Comparison

RTP vs FedNow: what's the difference between the two instant rails?

Updated October 2026. Evergreen page — refreshed in place as facts change.

RTP since

2017

The Clearing House, November

FedNow since

2023

Federal Reserve, July 20

Both limits

$10M

RTP Feb 2025 · FedNow Nov 2025

Both hours

24/7/365

Seconds, final settlement

RTP, 2025

$1.3T+

Value, January–November

FedNow, 2025

$853B

Value, about 8.4M payments

FedNow banks

1,800+

Participants, July 2026

Connected?

No

Separate networks; banks join one or both

The United States has two instant payment networks doing the same job: move money between bank accounts in seconds, at any hour, with final settlement. That is unusual — most countries have one — and it has practical consequences for anyone sending money, because the two networks are not connected. This guide compares RTP and FedNow on ownership, settlement, limits, volume, reach, cost and safety, and explains what it means for a business choosing how to pay and get paid.

What is the difference between RTP and FedNow?

For the person paying, very little: both send money from one bank account to another in seconds, any time, with the recipient's routing and account number, and both are final. The differences are underneath — who owns the network, how it settles, how big it is, and which banks are on it.

Who runs each network, and does it matter?

RTP is run by The Clearing House, a payments company owned by many of the largest US commercial banks, which also operates CHIPS and the EPN ACH network. Its owners built RTP in 2017 and connected their own customers first, which is why RTP reached most large-bank accounts early. FedNow is run by the Federal Reserve as a public service, open to any eligible depository institution on the same terms — one reason the Fed built it was to give every community bank and credit union access to instant payments without depending on a network owned by its larger competitors.

For a sender, ownership matters mainly through reach: the banks you need to pay are more likely to be on one network or the other depending on their size and history.

How do RTP and FedNow settle?

Both settle each payment individually and finally in central bank money, but the plumbing differs. On RTP, participating banks prefund a joint account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; each payment moves value between their positions in that account instantly, and banks replenish their positions with Fedwire transfers during Fedwire hours. On FedNow, each payment debits and credits the two banks' own Federal Reserve accounts directly, and banks can move liquidity between accounts on FedNow itself at any hour.

How do RTP and FedNow limits compare?

Both now allow up to $10 million per payment. RTP got there first, on February 9, 2025, after earlier limits of $25,000 (2017), $100,000 (2020) and $1 million (2022). FedNow launched at $500,000, rose to $1 million on June 24, 2025 and to $10 million on November 12, 2025. On both networks each bank sets its own limit within the maximum — FedNow's default is $100,000 — so the real limit on any payment is the lower of the two banks' settings.

Which is bigger, RTP or FedNow?

By value, RTP, so far. RTP processed $246 billion in 2024 and more than $1.3 trillion in 2025 through November, with a record of 1.81 million payments worth $5.2 billion on October 3, 2025. FedNow settled about 8.4 million payments worth about $853 billion in all of 2025, then about 5.0 million payments worth about $275 billion in the second quarter of 2026 alone — growing quickly from a younger base. FedNow's participant base — more than 1,800 banks and credit unions by July 2026 — leans toward community banks and credit unions, many of which reached instant payments for the first time through it.

Can RTP send money to a FedNow bank?

Not directly. RTP and FedNow are separate networks with no direct connection, so a payment on one can reach only that network's participants. A bank on both can receive from either. That is why the best instant coverage comes from a provider that can send on both networks and route each payment to the one the recipient's bank uses. If the recipient's bank is on neither, the payment falls back to Same Day ACH or a wire.

• Sending to a large national or regional bank: usually reachable by RTP, often by both.
• Sending to a community bank or credit union: more often reachable by FedNow.
• Recipient on neither network: Same Day ACH (same business day) or a wire (same business day, any amount).
• Not sure: ask the recipient whether their bank supports instant payments, or send a small first payment.

What happens on each network when a payment goes to the wrong account?

The same thing, by design: both networks settle finally, so there is no chargeback and no unilateral reversal, and both give the sending bank a formal way to ask for the money back — a request for return of funds on RTP, a return request on FedNow. The receiving bank decides with its customer whether to return it. A payment to an account that does not exist is the easy case on both: the receiving bank refuses it in seconds and the money never moves. The hard case is a payment the payer authorized to the wrong person, which is why both networks and the banks on them lean on limits, payee checks and fraud monitoring before the payment, not recovery after it.

What do RTP and FedNow cost?

Both charge banks a few cents per payment. The Fed charges the sending bank $0.045 per FedNow credit transfer, with 2026 discounts that zero out the participation fee and offset the first 2,500 transfers a month; The Clearing House prices RTP the same for every participating bank regardless of size. Neither network sets what you pay: banks decide, and many offer instant payments free or for a few dollars, well below typical wire fees.

Are RTP and FedNow safe?

Equally so, in the same way: both are credit-push only, so nobody can pull money from your account, every payment is authenticated by the sending bank, and settlement is final. Finality cuts both ways — there is no chargeback for a payment sent to a scammer. Both networks give banks fraud tools and limits, and banks add their own monitoring. The defence that works on either rail is verification before you send.

Should a business use RTP or FedNow?

Both, ideally, without having to think about it. A business does not choose a network the way it chooses a bank; its bank or provider does. What a business should look for is an account that can receive on both, send on both, show whether an instant payment will reach the recipient before it is sent, and fall back to Same Day ACH or a wire when it will not. The questions to ask a provider:

• Can you receive RTP and FedNow payments into my account and routing number?
• Can you send on both networks, and what are my per-payment and daily limits?
• Do you show the expected arrival before I confirm, and what happens if the recipient's bank is not instant-enabled?
• Do you carry remittance data and request for payment?
• Are instant payments available 24/7 in your app and API, including weekends?

How do RTP and FedNow work on Anytime Capital?

Anytime Capital business accounts receive both RTP and FedNow payments into US account and routing numbers in your business's own name, and push money by RTP or FedNow to any US bank account that receives instant payments, with 'usually within seconds' shown before you confirm. The same account sends wires and ACH when a payment needs them, so the rail is a per-payment choice. Enterprise accounts add approvals, sub-accounts and an API with signed webhooks. Processing is subject to compliance review.