The Clearing House’ Real Time Payments network grew 94% year over year on a dollar basis in 2024 as it continued to benefit from the Federal Reserve’s marketing of FedNow.

TCH moved $246 billion on its network in 2024 and increased transaction volume by 38% YoY to 343 million transactions, according to a Jan. 8 release. 

FedNow’s 2023 entry into the market increased the visibility of instant payment capabilities, making banks rethink their instant payment service strategies, Jim Colassano, senior vice president of product development and strategy at TCH, told Bank Automation News. 

“You can’t get a bigger megaphone than the Federal Reserve,” Colassano said. “When the Federal Reserve starts talking about instant payments, it reaches a very [big] audience.” 

The Federal Reserve spent a lot of time, money and other resources launching FedNow, Jeff Bucher, senior product strategy manager at digital banking solutions provider Alkami, told BAN.  

“That increased not only recognition of FedNow, but a lot of adoption around RTP,” he said. 

RTP and FedNow reported transaction volume growth in 2024. 

* The Federal Reserve has not released Q4 transaction volume. 

2025 instant payment adoption 

TCH expects instant payment volume to grow even further, Colassano said, adding that wages and B2B payments are the major drivers. 

TCH in February is raising its payment limit from $1 million to $10 million, which will increase use cases and volume, Colassano said. 

More FIs plan on joining both RTP and FedNow this year, Colassano said, adding that those FIs prefer to start their instant payments journeys with RTP due to the volume on network and its established infrastructure. 

RTP had more than 840 financial institutions on its network as of Jan. 8, Colassano said. 

FedNow reported more than 1,100 FIs on its network that same day. 

Register here for early-bird pricing for Bank Automation Summit 2025, taking place March 3-4 in Nashville, Tenn. View the full event agenda here.