Real-time payments

As funding mechanisms for sovereign debt and large assets increasingly migrate toward real-time financial infrastructure, banks are at risk of being displaced as key intermediaries in global finance.

Minal Gupta has implemented new financial technology for years as an executive, and is taking the helm of her credit union as the entire industry ponders how to use real-time payments and new forms of AI.

Executives have more trust in the central bank's board than their smaller-bank brethren, according to American Banker's 2026 Predictions report.

Five years after the government struggled to disburse pandemic relief checks, the Fed is using improved processing for emergency funds as a reason for banks to get onboard with FedNow.

The government-powered network is allowing larger payments to settle instantly, a move The Clearing House has also made for its RTP network. Payment experts say more than higher limits are needed to make speedy processing ubiquitous.

Attackers used stolen vendor credentials to move $130M, underscoring vulnerabilities in real-time payment systems.

A2A, or pay by bank payments, are an alternative to card networks, a lower-cost option that is catching on with consumers and merchants.

Fedwire has migrated to ISO 20022, a messaging standard designed to make it easier for digital real-time processing rails to work together. It's a difficult lift for banks, but the agency promises it will be worth it.

The Dallas-based lender, which reported a year-over-year decline in earnings, is anticipating increased loan activity and deposit growth later in the year.

Comerica and U.S. Bank are applying new tools that attempt to take the worry out of real-time transactions made on behalf of third parties. Comerica payments exec Allysun Fleming spoke about the bank's plans.

Carvana and Plaid, with the help of Cross River Bank, have launched Request for Payment, which combines billing with The Clearing House's RTP Network. The option has been slow to gain traction, but the companies are betting large-ticket purchases, such as for an automobile, will be popular.

The government's instant processing rail hopes to enable new use cases, while Klarna adds to its network.

As real-time payments become more common, UBB's partnership with fintech Pidgin offers a roadmap for smaller banks to stay relevant.

Security worries have kept many financial institutions from sending payments on TCH's real-time payments network and FedNow. But ABNB Federal Credit Union had other ideas. Here's how its team prepared.

It was the largest U.S. transaction ever to instantly settle, following The Clearing House's new transaction ceiling that went into effect Sunday.

The lack of a government requirement has slowed adoption in the U.S., but there are signs demand is picking up.

A new EU law that requires interoperability and universal support for instant processing goes into effect this week, providing clarity that the U.S. lacks, while ABN Amro says restrooms generate transaction revenue. That and more news in this week's global payments roundup.

About $2 billion changes hands daily for the sale of new motor vehicles in the U.S., making auto dealers a prime use case for faster payments. So why aren't more using it?