Inside the Real-Time Payments Boom Transforming U.S. Payments Right Now

For years, real-time payments were positioned as the future of banking in the U.S. Faster settlement, 24/7 availability, and improved liquidity promised to modernize an industry still built on batch processing and next-day clearing.

But at first, adoption moved slowly.

The Clearing House launched RTP in 2017, and participation was limited in the early years. By the end of 2020, fewer than 60% of U.S. demand deposit accounts were reachable through real-time rails. Most institutions pointed to operational complexity, core limitations, and compliance challenges as the main blockers.

That momentum shifted in a big way in 2023 with the launch of the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service. Since then, real-time payments have moved from optional innovation to foundational infrastructure.

Today, more than 700 financial institutions are live or onboarding on FedNow, and RTP reach now covers over 70% of U.S. checking accounts. According to recent data, U.S. real-time payment volumes grew more than 45% year over year in 2024, with transaction value expanding even faster as business use cases increased.

Instant payments are no longer experimental. They’re an expectation.

Why Early Adoption Lagged Behind Demand

The slowdown wasn’t driven by a lack of interest. Consumers and businesses have always wanted immediate access to funds. The friction lived almost entirely on the backend.

Most banking systems were designed for fixed processing windows. Ledgers updated in batches. Compliance checks happened after submission. Liquidity management brought delayed settlement.

Introducing real-time money movement required continuous posting, automated monitoring, instant reconciliation, and always-on fraud controls. For many institutions, supporting all of that meant expensive core replacements or multi-year integration projects.

Now, that’s changed.

Modern API-driven infrastructure has dramatically lowered the barrier to real-time processing. Event-based systems, real-time subledgering, and embedded compliance now allow banks to support continuous settlement without ripping out their existing cores. As those tools matured, adoption followed.

The Real-Time Payments Ecosystem Has Expanded 

Instant payments today extend far beyond a single rail. FedNow now operates alongside The Clearing House’s RTP network, giving institutions multiple domestic real-time settlement paths. Visa Direct and Mastercard Send have become standard for instant payouts across payroll, insurance claims, marketplaces, and gig economy platforms.

At the same time, stablecoins are gaining traction as real-time settlement tools for cross-border liquidity and treasury operations. Data indicates that blockchain-based settlement volumes could exceed $5 trillion annually by 2030 as institutions adopt programmable, always-on payment rails. Together, these systems are reshaping how money moves.

Transfers that once took days are now happening in seconds. Cutoff times that once limited cash flow no longer exist. Treasury, payments, and customer experience are shifting toward 24/7 operation.

For financial institutions, the challenge isn’t whether real-time payments will dominate future flows. It’s about connecting to multiple instant rails efficiently while maintaining security, compliance, and operational control.

Speed is only part of the transformation. Instant settlement demands real-time balance updates, liquidity forecasting, automated compliance screening, and continuous fraud monitoring. Manual processes that worked safely in batch environments become risk points when funds move instantly.

Without modern infrastructure, institutions face reconciliation gaps, fraud exposure, and operational strain. True real-time payments require real-time processing across the entire stack. That’s why API-first platforms have become essential enablers of this shift.

How Mozrt Is Fueling Instant Payments Adoption

Mozrt has always been known for our strength in cross-border payments, supporting complex international flows with elegant, user-first, API-first technology.

That same real-time, API-driven architecture is now powering Mozrt’s domestic instant payments and direct Federal Reserve connectivity.

Mozrt joined the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service Provider Showcase in 2023, giving financial institutions a streamlined path to real-time payments through our API-driven platform. More recently, we secured our own direct ETI connection to the Federal Reserve, unlocking true real-time settlement and significantly accelerating bank onboarding, especially for institutions constrained by early ACH and wire cutoff windows.

Rather than forcing core replacements, Mozrt operates as a real-time payments layer inside existing ecosystems.

Through its API-driven microcore, real-time ledgers, embedded compliance, webhooks, and automated reconciliation tools, we connect institutions to FedNow, RTP, Visa Direct, Mastercard Send, and other instant rails with minimal development work.

Payment windows extend from fixed hours to 24/7 operation. Posting becomes instantaneous. Compliance runs in real time. Institutions modernize without disruption.

Stablecoins Are Becoming Part of the Instant Payments Conversation

While domestic real-time rails are transforming U.S. money movement, stablecoins are emerging as a complementary settlement layer, especially for international transactions.

Dollar-backed digital assets enable near-instant cross-border transfers without reliance on correspondent banking networks or time-zone constraints. According to BCG, stablecoin transaction volumes surpassed $11 trillion in 2024, rivaling major card networks in total value moved.

Regulatory frameworks continue to evolve, but institutional interest is accelerating.

Treasury operations, liquidity management, and global payouts are increasingly exploring programmable settlement alongside traditional rails.

Mozrt’s real-time infrastructure is designed to support both conventional payment networks and emerging digital settlement mechanisms, ensuring institutions can adopt new rails without rebuilding their technology stack.

Real-Time Payments Are Becoming Core Financial Infrastructure

Real-time payments have moved far beyond a convenience feature. They’re quickly becoming a competitive baseline across the financial system. Institutions that enable instant settlement improve cash flow for business clients, reduce operational friction, and create new revenue opportunities, while consumers increasingly expect immediate access to funds. Fintechs are building entire product ecosystems around continuous money movement, and central banks are embedding real-time rails directly into national payment infrastructure.

This shift mirrors every major payment evolution before it. Electronic transfers replaced checks. Digital payments replaced paper workflows. Now, instant settlement is replacing batch processing. FedNow, RTP, Visa Direct, and emerging digital rails aren’t temporary enhancements.

They’re forming the backbone of the next generation of financial services.

The winners won’t be the institutions that rip out legacy systems overnight. They’ll be the ones that modernize intelligently.

Mozrt sits at the center of that transformation. Through direct Federal Reserve connectivity, multi-rail instant payments, real-time ledgering, embedded compliance, and global settlement capabilities, Mozrt bridges traditional banking infrastructure with a modern, always-on financial ecosystem.

Instant payments aren’t coming. They’re already reshaping how money moves. And the shift from batch to real-time is quickly becoming the defining transformation of modern banking.