By now you’ve likely heard that the U.S. Federal Reserve launched its FedNow instant payments solution. Using the new tool, banks and credit unions can enable their customers to instantly transfer money at any time of day, any day of the year.
The release comes 10 years after the Fed first started talking about creating a real-time payments (RTP) solution in 2013, and five years after it began developing an RTP offering. The Fed’s instant payments solution also comes after a handful of competing companies in the private sector– including Orum, Visa Direct, and The Clearing House (TCH)— had already launched.
The latter of these– TCH– just released an update that details some of the metrics it has reached in the instant payments realm after launching its RTP network in November of 2017. Here is what the company has achieved in six years:
Increased transaction number
The number of transactions on the RTP network in Q2 2023 totaled 58 million, up from 41 million transactions during that same period last year.
Increased transaction volume
The value of transactions during Q2 2023 reached $29 billion, up from $18 billion in the same quarter last year.
Gained financial institution customers
More than 350 financial institutions are providing real-time payments on the RTP network to their customers and members.
Gained business adoption
150,000 businesses are sending payments over the RTP network. This is a 50% increase since December 2022.
Reached end consumers
3+ million consumers each month are sending account-to-account payments and Zelle payments that leverage the RTP network
Reached demand deposit accounts
The RTP network currently reaches 65% of U.S. demand deposit accounts.
These milestones signify three things. First, they are a reminder to always question claims of “industry firsts.” The launch of FedNow is buzz-worthy because it is a government-led initiative, not because its the first player in the U.S. to enable real-time payments.
Second, TCH’s milestones indicate that consumers are not only conceptually ready for the change, they are open to trusting the process behind the change. “As more banks and credit unions join the RTP network, their customers and members are experiencing the benefits of real-time payments,” said TCH Senior Vice President of RTP Product Management Rusiru Gunasena. “Surpassing 500 million RTP payments signifies the accelerating growth and demand on the RTP network.”
The last thing TCH’s stats demonstrate is that there is still room for a lot of growth in this area. FedNow may not have been the first player to enter the market with an RTP solution, but that’s not to say it won’t be successful. There are currently 57 banks and credit unions planning to participate in FedNow, and Forbes estimates that number will increase to 200 by the end of the year and will reach 500 by the end of next year.