Faster payments — sometimes referred to as real-time payments — have gone from a nice-to-have to a must-have in credit union circles.
Consumers and businesses now expect near-instant delivery of funds, day or night, weekends, and holidays.
Back in January, industry experts released survey results predicting real-time payments would be a major theme in 2025 — and new numbers appear to prove it: 73% of midsize businesses now use instant transfer capabilities, a sharp jump from 2024. On the consumer side, digital wallet use climbed steadily, reaching 11 transactions per month on average in the first quarter.
Nearly one in four purchases now happens via mobile or online channels.
Why Credit Unions Should Care
Instant access to cash isn’t just a convenience, it drives deeper engagement with members.
A small business that can pay its supplier in real time is far more likely to keep its operating account at your credit union. Consumers living paycheck to paycheck rely on immediate disbursements for bills and emergencies. When nearly 60% of U.S. adults use digital wallets regularly, offering real-time payments is a competitive necessity.
By leaning into faster payments, you can:
- Strengthen member loyalty with faster payroll deposits, loan disbursements, and P2P transfers
- Cut costs by phasing out checks and delayed ACH workflows
- Showcase agility and reinforce your community-focused values
What’s A Faster Rail?
Not every option for faster money movement is the same. Here’s a quick look at the key rails to consider:
- RTP Network — Launched in 2017 by The Clearing House, this private-sector network handled 343 million transactions valued at $246 billion in 2024, a year-over-year value increase of nearly 94%.
- FedNow Service — The Federal Reserve’s round-the-clock offering rocketed from $13 million in total value in the fourth quarter of 2023 to more than $20 billion by the fourth quarter of 2024. FedNow is the real-time gross settlement system using the ISO 20022 standard to support instant payments.
- Visa Direct And Mastercard Send — These card-based push-pay rails support real-time account-to-account transfers and merchant payouts and are forecasted to account for 27% of global electronic payments by 2028.
- Peer-to-Peer Platforms — Although platforms like Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, and Payrailz Pay a Person are not bank rails, these tools set the bar for the near real-time person-to-person transfers that members expect.
- Embedded Finance And APIs — Payment APIs within accounting software or point-of-sale systems tap real-time payment and card rails for immediate settlement inside third-party applications.
Building Your Payments Roadmap
Rolling out new faster payments can feel complex, but a phased approach keeps it manageable:
- Audit Your Technology — Verify whether your core processing platform supports RTP and FedNow or if you need a third-party service provider.
- Gauge Member Needs — Identify which segments — commercial, consumer, or both — will adopt real-time payments first. Start by enabling inbound real-time payments first, outbound next.
- Strengthen Fraud Controls — Instant rails require real-time risk monitoring. Review your digital platform analytics and multi-factor authentication. Be thoughtful about limits and velocity checks.
- Train Staff And Members — Host webinars, branch demonstrations, and quick-start guides to show how real-time payments work and highlight features that benefit members.
- Measure And Optimize — Track transaction volume, member feedback, and cost savings. Use insights to tweak pricing, user experience, and marketing messages.
Looking Ahead
Faster payments have shifted from experimental to essential.
In July 2025, FedWire adopted ISO 20022 messaging standards, enabling richer data exchanges and smoother interoperability with global systems. Now that it’s largely complete, we’ll start seeing cross-border real-time payments, stablecoin rails, and expanded embedded finance use cases.
For credit unions the message is clear: the time to build a payments strategy with a real-time payments focus is now.
