RTP (Real-Time Payments) and FedNow, the two immediate payment platforms in the United States, recently reported Q2 2025 results showing impressive growth in number of transactions and the value transmitted through each system. RTP reported 1.18 million payments each day with a total daily value of $481 billion in payments, a 195% leap in value from the previous quarter. FedNow, quarterly volume grew 62% to 2.1 million payments with an average daily value of $2.7 billion, up more than 400% over the previous year. “RTP is seeing about 1.2 to 1.3 million transactions a day,” said Greg MacSweeney, a spokesman for TCH. “FedNow saw that in its entire first quarter, so we’re doing in one day what they’re doing in a quarter.” In practical terms, all banks have access to RTP at the same cost, 4.5 cents per payment. The cost is the same for every participating bank and there are no access fees or discounts for high volume users. The users’ price for a real-time payment is set by their participating banks. RTP can reach 71% of all demand deposit accounts, with an incremental “technical reach” to financial institutions that hold close to 90% of DDAs, explains the TCH on its website. Because only 1,400 banks have signed up for FedNow, which doesn’t connect to RTP, FedNow users have limited reach with their real-time payments. Bank assets are highly concentrated – the top 15 banks hold 76% of deposits, according to the FDIC. The network effect will improve for FedNow as more banks sign up, but banks operating just FedNow for real-time payments will be at a disadvantage unless the two platforms develop an operating link. Some banks will implement both RTP and FedNow so they can send and receive payments from more banks, and therefore more people.