Initiative Tracker
The United States operates two competing instant payment rails - an unusual arrangement globally. FedNow, launched by the Federal Reserve in July 2023, and RTP, operated by The Clearing House since 2017, compete for bank adoption while the industry debates whether dual-rail redundancy or single-rail efficiency better serves the market.
US Instant Payments (FedNow + RTP)
EXPANDINGFederal Reserve / The Clearing House · Launched Jul 20, 2023 · Rails: fednow, rtp
1,600+
FedNow participants
↑ Growing
The United States operates two competing instant payment rails: FedNow (Federal Reserve) and RTP (The Clearing House). Both enable real-time settlement of payments between participating financial institutions, creating an unusual dual-rail instant payment landscape.
System Status
No upcoming maintenance windows.
Rollout Tracker
| Country | FedNow Send | FedNow Receive | Request for Payment | Liquidity Management | RTP Send | RTP Receive | $10M Limit | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States - FedNowUS | Live Jul 2023 | Live Jul 2023 | Live Jan 2024 | Live Jul 2023 | — | — | — | Jul 2025 |
| United States - RTPUS | — | — | Live Jan 2019 | — | Live Nov 2017 | Live Nov 2017 | Live Feb 2025 | Apr 2026 |
Regulatory Radar
723dJun 30, 2028
Fedwire extended operating hours
Fedwire expanding to 22 hours/day, 6 days/week, 365 days/year. Significant change for correspondent banking and cross-border payment windows.
Timeline
Jun 5, 2026
The Clearing House announces it will operate a shared tokenized deposit network for major US banks (JPMorgan, Citi, BofA, Wells Fargo, and 13+ others), with a connectivity bridge to CHIPS and RTP networks for fiat-to-digital interoperability. Targeting H1 2027 launch.
ABA Banking Journal / Ledger InsightsMay 20, 2026
Federal Reserve Board formally proposes payment accounts (6-1 vote) enabling eligible non-bank financial institutions to access Fedwire Funds, FedNow, NSS, and free-of-payment Fedwire Securities transfers for clearing and settling payments. Accounts must be fully prefunded with automated overdraft prevention, earn no interest, have no discount window access, and face overnight balance caps (lesser of $500M or 10% of assets). 60-day comment period after Federal Register publication. Executive Order from President Trump supports fintech access to Federal Reserve payment accounts.
Federal Reserve BoardMay 1, 2026
RTP network sets new single-day records: 2.27 million transactions worth $8.62 billion on May Day. Previous daily volume record was 2.05 million (February 13, 2026). Tax refund disbursements via RTP increased 78% in first four months of 2026 vs same 2025 period.
The Clearing HouseApr 28, 2026
FedNow Network Intelligence API launches for early adopters, providing receiver account-level data from historical transaction patterns for real-time fraud risk assessment. Federal Reserve also exploring Payee Name Verification feature.
Federal Reserve Financial ServicesApr 24, 2026
Bank of England Working Paper No. 1,180 finds the February 2022 FPS limit increase to £1M reduced CHAPS volume in the £250K–£1M band by 10.7–13.7%, first empirical evidence of meaningful RTGS-to-instant substitution.
Bank of EnglandApr 21, 2026
TCH announces domestic correspondent bank activity on RTP network to launch September 2026, extending rail's reach to institutions without direct connections. Also developing IXB pilot with EBA CLEARING and SWIFT for USD-EUR cross-border instant transfers.
American BankerApr 8, 2026
Federal Reserve Board proposes amending Regulation J Subpart C to allow FedNow participants to use intermediary banks for cross-border payments. Comments due 60 days after Federal Register publication (April 10). Would align FedNow with Fedwire, which has permitted intermediaries for decades.
Federal Reserve BoardMar 31, 2026
RTP processes 128 million transactions totaling $480 billion in Q1 2026, daily average value $5.7 billion. Over 1,200 financial institutions live on RTP network.
The Clearing HouseFeb 13, 2026
RTP processes 2.05 million payments in a single day, first time exceeding 2 million daily transactions
The Clearing HouseNov 30, 2025
RTP surpasses $1.3 trillion in total payments for 2025, a 428% increase from $246 billion in 2024
The Clearing HouseMar 10, 2025
Federal Reserve completed the single-day cutover of Fedwire Funds Service from proprietary format to ISO 20022 messaging on March 10, 2025.
Related Systems
FedNow
FPS · United States · Federal Reserve
Window: 24/7/365
ISO 20022: native · Gross
Fedwire
RTGS · United States · Federal Reserve
Window: 01:00–23:00 UTC · Mon–Fri
ISO 20022: migrated · Gross
FedACH / Nacha
ACH · United States · Federal Reserve / Nacha
Window: 06:00–23:00 UTC · Mon–Fri
ISO 20022: legacy · Net
CHIPS
RTGS · United States · The Clearing House
Window: 14:00–23:00 UTC · Mon–Fri
ISO 20022: migrated · Hybrid
Competitive Landscape
Same-Day ACHalternative
Batch payment rail
NACHA same-day ACH handles time-sensitive payments but with settlement windows (not true instant). $1M per-transaction limit. Competes for corporate use cases where seconds don't matter but same-day does.
Visa Direct / Mastercard Sendcompetitor
Card network push payments
Push-to-card payments competing for disbursements, gig economy payouts, and P2P. Leverage existing card infrastructure but higher cost per transaction.
Fedwirecomplementary
RTGS
High-value wholesale RTGS. FedNow/RTP handle retail instant payments; Fedwire handles large-value interbank and time-critical settlement. Different market segments.
Zellecomplementary
P2P overlay network
Consumer P2P network operated by Early Warning Services. Increasingly routes settlement through RTP and FedNow rather than ACH. Overlay, not a competing rail.
CHIPScomplementary
Large-value netting system
TCH-operated large-value USD clearing with netting. Handles wholesale FX and correspondent banking flows. Complementary to instant payments, different market.
Check / Paperlegacy
Legacy instrument
Still processes billions annually in the US. Instant payments aim to replace check usage for B2B and government disbursements.
Articles (85)
RegulationJul 8, 2026
OCC Proposes Weekly and Quarterly Reporting Forms for Stablecoin Issuers Under GENIUS Act
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published proposed reporting forms on June 11, requiring permitted stablecoin issuers to submit weekly activity and reserve data and quarterly condition reports under the GENIUS Act framework with a 60-day comment period.
NewsJul 6, 2026
Federal Reserve Study Shows ACH Reached Three-Quarters of US Noncash Payment Value in 2024
ACH transfers claimed a record share of US payment value while credit cards outpaced debit growth for the first time since 2000, according to the Fed's three-yearly review of 2024 transaction data.
NewsJul 4, 2026
RTP Network Processes $576 Billion in Q2 2026 as Daily Average Hits $6 Billion
Network participation stood at over 1,260 financial institutions as of May 2026. The quarterly figure brings the RTP network's cumulative total since its 2017 launch to 1.6 billion transactions worth more than $3 trillion.
RegulationJul 4, 2026
GENIUS Act Faces Certain Deadline Miss as NCUA Comment Period Closes Day Before July 18 Cutoff
No federal agency has published final GENIUS Act stablecoin regulations with 14 days remaining until the statutory July 18, 2026 deadline. The NCUA's operational standards comment period does not close until July 17, making timely completion of all six rulemaking tracks impossible and triggering the Act's fallback effective date of January 18, 2027.
NewsJul 3, 2026
Federal Reserve Triennial Study Records 236.6 Billion Noncash Payments in 2024
The Federal Reserve's 2025 triennial payments study, released July 1, finds that ACH payments accounted for nearly three-quarters of noncash payment value for the first time. Credit card payments grew faster than debit for the first time in almost a decade.
NewsJul 3, 2026
FedNow Surpasses 1,800 Participants With $853 Billion in 2025 Settled Value
The Federal Reserve's instant payment service now includes more than 1,800 financial institutions, adding roughly 200 since January 2026. Full-year 2025 data shows 8.4 million settled payments worth $853.4 billion, representing 459% volume growth over 2024.
RegulationJul 2, 2026
House Financial Services Committee Debates Fintech Access to Federal Reserve Payment Systems
Stripe Vice Chair Eileen O'Mara testified that current frameworks force payment companies into inappropriate regulatory categories. O'Mara argued that direct Fed access would benefit small businesses through faster settlement.
NewsJul 2, 2026
SWIFT Payments Scheme Goes Live with 25 Banks Across 11 Cross-Border Corridors
SWIFT activated its consumer cross-border payments framework at the end of June 2026, with more than 25 banks processing live transactions across corridors linking 11 countries including five of the world's ten largest remittance markets.
RegulationJun 30, 2026
No Agency Has Published Final GENIUS Act Rules with 18 Days to Statutory Deadline
The GENIUS Act takes effect on January 18, 2027, regardless of whether agencies meet the July 18 rulemaking deadline. Final rules issued before that date would trigger activation 120 days after publication.
RegulationJun 29, 2026
Regulation II Faces Dual Circuit Challenge as Durbin Files Amicus in Sixth Circuit
Amicus briefs from Senator Durbin, NFIB, RILA, and the Manhattan Institute in the Sixth Circuit create a second appellate front against Regulation II, opposing the Eighth Circuit challenge that seeks to eliminate the rule entirely.
NewsJun 26, 2026
House Financial Services Committee Debates PACE Act to Open Fed Payment Rails to Nonbanks
Representative Young Kim highlighted the legislation as a payments modernization priority at the hearing.
RegulationJun 26, 2026
Federal Agencies Propose Stablecoin Customer Identification Rules Under GENIUS Act
The CIP NPRM is the eleventh rulemaking published under the GENIUS Act since its enactment on July 18, 2025. All eleven remain at the proposed stage.
RegulationJun 19, 2026
Fed Publishes First GENIUS Act Rulemaking as July 18 Deadline Approaches with No Final Regulations
The Federal Reserve Board joined four other agencies on June 18, 2026, to propose customer identification requirements for stablecoin issuers, marking the Fed's first GENIUS Act rulemaking. With the July 18 statutory deadline for final regulations 29 days away and no agency having published any final rule, the Act's fallback effective date of January 18, 2027 is increasingly certain.
RegulationJun 17, 2026
Federal Preemption and Permanent Injunction Effectively Neutralize Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act
Three convergent federal actions in June 2026 have stripped the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act of nearly all practical effect. A permanent court injunction, NCUA preemption rule, and legislative postponement leave the first US state interchange fee law applicable only to Illinois-chartered financial institutions.
RegulationJun 16, 2026
Visa-Mastercard $38 Billion Interchange Settlement Clears Preliminary Approval
Visa and Mastercard will reduce average effective credit interchange rates by 10 basis points over five years. Standard consumer credit card rates are capped at 1.25 percent for eight years.
AnalysisJun 12, 2026
US Instant Payments Settle Combined $751 Billion in Q1 2026 as FedNow and RTP Diverge on Payment Size
RTP's volume lead remains wide. Its single-day record of 2.27 million transactions on May 1 exceeded FedNow's Q1 daily average of 30,317 by a factor of 75. FedNow's value trajectory, however, is extraordinary: the $271.
NewsJun 12, 2026
17 US Banks Commit to Clearing House Tokenized Deposit Settlement Network
TCH's blockchain-based deposit tokenization platform, backed by JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, and 14 other financial institutions, will connect on-chain settlements to existing CHIPS and RTP rails. The target launch is the first half of 2027.
NewsJun 8, 2026
The Clearing House to Operate Tokenized Deposit Network With Bridge to CHIPS and RTP
A consortium of seventeen US banks will build a shared tokenized deposit platform operated by The Clearing House, connecting on-chain settlement of commercial bank money to the existing CHIPS and RTP payment infrastructure.
AnalysisJun 5, 2026
CHIPS Crosses $2 Trillion in Daily Value as Huntington Joins Network
Huntington National Bank became CHIPS's 43rd direct participant on May 19, 2026, following its merger with Cadence Bank. The network's continuous matching engine now settles payments for 43 clearing members, reducing required prefunding to roughly $96 billion against more than $2 trillion in gross throughput.
NewsMay 29, 2026
BIS Project Agorá Completes Tokenized Settlement Prototype, Eight Central Banks Plan Real-Value Tests
Participating central banks include the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank.
Reference Documents
Federal Reserve Operating Circular No. 6 (Fedwire Funds)
Federal Reserve · operating_rules · vJanuary 2026 · Jan 5, 2026
Federal Reserve Operating Circular No. 8 (FedNow Service)
Federal Reserve · operating_rules · vApril 2026 · Apr 1, 2026
FedNow Service Operating Procedures
Federal Reserve · operating_rules · vVersion 3.2 (February 2026) · Feb 13, 2026
RTP System Operating Rules
The Clearing House · operating_rules · vEffective 01-01-2026 · Jan 1, 2026
RTP Participation Rules
The Clearing House · operating_rules · vEffective 07-21-2025 · Jul 21, 2025
CBPR+ Roadmap Beyond November 2025
SWIFT · regulatory_text · vSeptember 2025 · Nov 15, 2026
Operational Track Record
IncidentMay 26, 2026
fedwire - Issue detected
IncidentMay 26, 2026
fedach - Issue detected
IncidentMar 21, 2026
fedwire - Issue detected
IncidentMar 21, 2026
fedach - Issue detected
IncidentMar 21, 2026
fednow - Issue detected
Tracker last updated: Mar 16, 2026