FedNow vs RTP: what is the difference for banks and businesses?

FedNow and RTP are the two US instant payment networks. Both move money between bank accounts in seconds, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and both now allow payments of up to $10 million. The difference is who runs them and how they settle: the FedNow Service is operated by the Federal Reserve Banks and settles in participants' Federal Reserve accounts, while the RTP network is operated by The Clearing House and settles against a prefunded joint account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Businesses reach either network through their bank, so the practical question is which network your bank has enabled, for sending or receiving, and at what limit. Limits and features below were checked on 4 November 2026.

What are FedNow and RTP?

RTP is The Clearing House's real-time payments network. It marked five years of operation in November 2022, which places its launch in 2017. The Clearing House: RTP network five-year anniversary The Clearing House describes it as available 24/7/365, including weekends and bank holidays, with final settlement. The Clearing House: Real Time Payments

FedNow is the Federal Reserve's instant payment service, which went live in July 2023. FRBservices: the FedNow Service is now live The Federal Reserve describes it as infrastructure that lets participating banks and credit unions of every size send and receive payments within seconds, around the clock. FRBservices: About the FedNow Service

Both are interbank networks whose participants are depository institutions, so businesses and platforms use them through a connected bank or provider.

FedNow vs RTP: how do they compare?

Sources: FedNow limit, RTP limit, FedNow Operating Procedures, RTP system introduction, FedNow at three years, RTP Q2 2025. Participation figures come from each operator on different dates, so they are indicative, not comparable.

What is the FedNow transaction limit now?

The FedNow network limit is $10 million. On 12 November 2025 the Federal Reserve raised the limit for customer credit transfers and payment returns from $1 million to $10 million, and the limit for liquidity management transfers from $2.5 million to $10 million. Participants can use the maximum or set lower limits. FRBservices: limit increases The Fed cited corporate treasury uses such as cash concentration and payroll funding. FRBservices: FedNow will raise limit to $10 million

The RTP limit had been $1 million since April 2022 and rose to $10 million on 9 February 2025. The Clearing House expected some banks to offer higher-value sending at once and others to roll it out gradually. The Clearing House: $10 million RTP limit

Older pages may still quote a $1 million FedNow cap. For a business, the number that matters is its own bank's limit, which can be far lower and can differ by customer type.

How does settlement differ between FedNow and RTP?

FedNow settles each payment through debits and credits to participants' master accounts at the Reserve Banks; a participant without its own account can settle through a correspondent's. Federal Reserve: FedNow Service

RTP works differently. Funding participants hold positions in a joint account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, with The Clearing House as its agent. Each payment lowers the sender's position and raises the receiver's, and a payment that would take the sender below zero is rejected. Banks top up the joint account through Fedwire, and The Clearing House documents an option to fund it with a FedNow liquidity management transfer outside Fedwire hours. The Clearing House: introduction to the RTP system · The Clearing House: RTP joint account funding by FedNow LMT

For a bank this is a liquidity question: a weekend payroll run on RTP needs a prefunded position large enough to cover it. PSP treasury and prefunding covers how to size and monitor that.

Which features matter to businesses?

• Request for payment. Both networks let a biller ask a customer's bank for an instant payment that the customer approves or declines. FedNow participants that send and receive must be able to receive request-for-payment messages. FedNow Operating Procedures · RTP request for payment
• Fraud controls. FedNow participants can keep negative lists of counterparty account pairs and set account activity thresholds that reject payments above a value or velocity limit.
• Finality. The Clearing House describes RTP settlement as final, and FedNow is an interbank real-time gross settlement service. An RTP return-of-funds request is not guaranteed to succeed, so design refunds as new payments; instant payment operations explains the states.
• Price. FedNow's 2026 fee schedule lists $0.045 per customer credit transfer, with a 2026 discount covering up to 2,500 transfers a month. FedNow 2026 fees Your bank sets what it charges you on either network.

Do not assume a payment can route from one network to the other. Ask your bank which network it is enabled on, for sending as well as receiving.

ACH vs wire vs RTP and FedNow: which rail fits which payment?

Sources: Nacha: Same Day ACH $1 million limit guidance, Nacha: raising the limit to $10 million, FRBservices: Fedwire operating hours.

Nacha says Same Day ACH entries above $1 million settle next day rather than being rejected, and a payment may not be split to stay under the cap. The Fed intends to add Sunday operation for Fedwire Funds, expected in 2028 or 2029. FRBservices: expanding Fedwire operating days For international wires, SWIFT vs wire transfer explains how the terms overlap.

How should a bank or business choose?

1. List the payments that need to be instant. Weekend payouts and treasury sweeps justify instant rails; payroll on a known date often does not.
2. Check your bank's enablement. Send, receive, request for payment and limits can differ by network.
3. Plan liquidity for 24/7 sending. RTP needs a funded joint-account position; FedNow draws on the master account or a correspondent.
4. Write the exception rules first. Timeouts and return requests need owners at all hours.
5. Treat a launch as a program. U.S. Bank and GigSafe's instant payouts show the workstreams beyond the rail, and FedNow's intermediary-bank proposal shows where cross-border use is heading.

FAQ

What is the FedNow transaction limit?

$10 million per customer credit transfer since 12 November 2025, up from $1 million. Your bank may set a lower limit.

What is the RTP network limit?

$10 million per payment since 9 February 2025, up from $1 million. Banks may offer a lower limit to their customers.

Is FedNow the same as RTP?

No. FedNow is run by the Federal Reserve Banks and RTP by The Clearing House. Both are instant and 24/7, but they settle differently and banks join each separately.

Can a business connect to FedNow or RTP directly?

Generally no. Participants are depository institutions, so businesses use the networks through their bank or a provider connected to one.

Is an instant payment reversible?

Treat it as final. Both networks settle each payment in real time, and while an RTP sender's bank can request a return of funds, the return is not guaranteed, so refunds should be sent as new payments.