Real Time Payments volume continues to climb as financial institutions increasingly opt in to The Clearing House’s instant payments rails. 

There is a market shift from “if” a financial institution is going to implement instant payments, to “I definitely need an instant payments strategy,” Elena Casal, chief client officer at The Clearing House (TCH), told Bank Automation News. 

In Q2 2025, more than 950 financial institution participants sent and received 107 million transactions valued at $481 billion on TCH’s Real-time payments (RTP) rail, according to TCH. 

Fast facts on RTP adoption: 

• 1,050 FIs are live on RTP; 

• 95% of payments companies want to send can be sent through the RTP network; and 

• 45% of business is done outside of traditional business hours. 

Send and receive

TCH is also starting to see an uptick in send cases on the rail. 

More financial institutions joining the network are opting in as both send and receive participants, Casal said. “We’re equating that to the technology being ready.” 

Historically, integration and cost have been barriers to entry for real-time payments, according to a 2021 FIS report on payments innovation and technology fragmentation.  

But adoption is growing alongside advancements to digital infrastructure, Casal said.  

“The RTP network has numerous technology service providers who are helping banks and credit unions connect to the network,” Casal said.  

These tech providers now offer more options for sending instant payments, Casals said. “As a result, more FIs are joining as receive and send FIs, and FIs that were receive-only are adding send technology to offer that capability to their clients.” 

This year TCH has seen 320,000 unique companies send RTP payments per month on behalf of a growing set of sending financial institutions, Casal said. That’s up from 285,000 businesses each month sending instant payments over the network, according to TCH. 

Participating service providers for RTP include:  

• Alacrati; 

• Fiserv; 

• Jack Henry;  

• Pidgin; and more. 

Pidgin, for one, has reached its own recent milestone, bringing 100 banks and credit unions onto its platform, according to a Sept. 9 release. 

Pidgin’s bank clients include Alabama-based $385.8 million Exchange Bank and community banks within the United Bankers’ Bank network. 

Check out our exclusive new bank industry data here.