Real-Time Payments (RTP) is The Clearing House's instant payment network (launched 2017); FedNow is the Federal Reserve's instant payment service (launched July 2023). Together, they form the U.S. instant payment infrastructure — enabling sub-15-second, 24/7/365, irrevocable fund settlement for businesses and consumers.
RTP and FedNow are the two instant payment rails available to U.S. financial institutions. Both operate on ISO 20022 messaging standards and settle in real time with immediate irrevocable finality. ## TCH Real-Time Payments (RTP) Owned by The Clearing House (which is itself owned by large U.S. commercial banks), RTP launched in November 2017. Coverage: 65%+ of U.S. DDA accounts. Transaction limit: $1M per payment. Use cases: business-to-business payments, gig economy disbursements, insurance payouts, loan disbursements. Per-transaction fees typically $0.045–$0.05 for credits. Send and receive functionality for connected institutions. ## Federal Reserve FedNow Launched July 2023, FedNow extends instant payment reach to community banks and credit unions that weren't early RTP adopters. The Federal Reserve's FedNow page provides technical specifications, participant lists, and guidance. FedNow's transaction limit is set by each institution (up to the network max). The Fed's involvement is expected to drive broader adoption among the 10,000+ smaller U.S. financial institutions. ## Request for Payment (RfP) Both networks support Request for Payment (RfP) — a B2B feature where a payee sends a payment request to a payer's bank, who can approve and instantly fund. This enables real-time electronic invoicing and payment in a single workflow, eliminating the check-to-ACH gap in B2B trade. ## Business Impact For SMBs, instant payment rails mean: faster revenue access (instant card-to-bank or B2B settlement), payroll flexibility (on-demand or off-cycle payroll at no extra cost), and faster loan disbursements. The Federal Reserve's Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System outlines the long-term vision for ubiquitous instant payment access.
RTP is privately owned by The Clearing House (owned by large commercial banks) and has been live since 2017 with $1M transaction limits. FedNow is operated by the Federal Reserve, launched in 2023, and designed to extend reach to smaller community banks and credit unions. Both use ISO 20022 messaging and settle instantly. A payment between two RTP participants uses RTP; a payment between two FedNow participants uses FedNow; cross-network interoperability is developing. For businesses, what matters is whether your specific bank and your payee's bank are on the same network.
Yes, with appropriate controls. Instant payments themselves are secure — they use bank-level authentication and encryption. The risk is fraud: because payments are irrevocable within seconds, business email compromise (BEC) scams target the payment initiation moment. Mitigations: call-back verification for new payees, dual approval for large transfers, out-of-band confirmation of account numbers. The Fed and Nacha publish fraud prevention frameworks for instant payments.
There is no mandatory participation date. The Federal Reserve hopes FedNow will achieve ubiquitous coverage through voluntary adoption. As of mid-2025, approximately 900+ institutions participate in FedNow and 600+ in RTP. Many smaller community banks and credit unions are still onboarding. Full U.S. coverage — where any account can send and receive instant payments — is an industry goal without a hard regulatory deadline.