FedNow lit the fuse, but real-time payments still haven’t exploded. Most banks haven’t joined the networks, and those that have are stuck in receive-only mode. Business and consumer use cases are multiplying, but infrastructure gaps and fraud concerns continue to block the path to scale. If banks don’t move now, fintechs and alt-rails will own what comes next.

Key Question: What are the key areas of growth for real-time payments in the US, and how can providers tap this growth?

Key Stat: FedNow’s quarterly volume has grown almost 50 times since its first full quarter in Q4 2023, but adoption remains limited with only 2.1 million transactions occurring on the network in Q2 2025, per the Federal Reserve.