Real Time Payments

About Real Time Payments

Real time payment systems settle transactions in seconds, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The UK Faster Payments Service launched in 2008 was the first major system. Indias UPI, launched in 2016, became the most successful, processing billions of transactions monthly. Brazils Pix, launched in 2020, reached over 140 million users in three years. The US FedNow Service launched in July 2023, finally bringing instant payments to America. Real time payments reduce the need for cash and checks, improve liquidity for businesses, and reduce settlement risk. The shift to instant payments represents the biggest change in payment infrastructure since the introduction of electronic fund transfer systems.