Real-time payments

The government-backed instant processing network has been live only since the summer of 2023, but it's already indirectly boosting usage at an unrelated bank-led rail from The Clearing House.

The organization says 'request for pay' has gotten early traction with billing and account-to account transfers. Now it's targeting consumer-to-government and digital wallet disbursements.

The bank is connecting billers and brokerage accounts as it builds the case for instant funding. It also points to countries such as Brazil and India as models to follow.

Brazil's Pix network, at just three years old, now accounts for 15% of all global real-time payments — and its success is inspiring projects in other countries.

Banks can choose to only receive transactions instantly, and it's the most popular choice. Simply preferring to get paid faster isn't the reason.

The Federal Reserve would seem to offer a compelling alternative to the bank-backed RTP network, but some credit unions — which typically see bank systems as competitive threats — are making more nuanced choices.

Here is a highlight of 10 great American Banker Magazine features from the year. Topics range from redlining to the Most Influential Women in Fintech.

The first credit unions enrolled in the Federal Reserve's FedNow instant payments platform say it will fundamentally change the way they serve consumers and businesses across multiple categories.