Real-time payment networks such as the RTP Network and FedNow are among the safest rails in modern finance, with fraud rates that are a fraction of those found in checks and wire transfers.
Yet anxiety, not evidence, still shapes how many institutions approach faster payments.
The PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Reality Check: Fact vs. Fiction in Real-Time Payments Fraud,” found that fear of scams and unauthorized transfers continues to slow adoption, even as the facts point in the opposite direction. Many banks continue to operate in “receive-only” mode, a halfway commitment that limits the promise of instant settlement.
The report argued that the gap between perception and performance, not fraud itself, has become the industry’s biggest obstacle to growth.
- 85% of U.S. payment professionals expect fraud to increase as instant payments become more common, according to RedCompass Labs. That sentiment is strongest among large banks, where nearly all firms with more than 50,000 employees see rising risk ahead. Yet fraud’s ranking as a hurdle to real-time adoption only climbed to fourth place in 2025, cited by 26% of institutions behind competition from FinTechs, 24/7 system demands, and outdated architecture.
- Just 2% of firms reported fraud on RTP or FedNow, compared with 63% reporting check fraud, the Association for Financial Professionals found. In April 2025, out of 35 million RTP transactions, only 123 fraud cases were reported, a rate far below ACH or wire transfers. Most incidents were minor, and only 3% of financial institutions described the impact as “significant.”
- 96% of banks support ID-verification tools like Confirmation of Payee, which matches recipient details before a transfer is processed. The method, already mandated in the U.K., has reduced authorized push-payment scams there by 60%. U.S. banks also ranked artificial intelligence, real-time monitoring, multi-factor authentication, and data sharing among the top five priorities for combating fraud.
Despite the numbers, perception continues to lag behind progress. Many institutions still link speed with risk, an association amplified by headlines about scams on consumer platforms such as Zelle. To limit exposure, nearly eight in ten banks plan to begin their real-time implementations in receive-only mode. It’s a strategy that may feel cautious but ultimately limits customer value and the efficiency gains of instant payments.
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The report notes that U.S. rails are already advancing robust safeguards. The Clearing House and the Federal Reserve have introduced new fraud-mitigation frameworks, including real-time monitoring, cross-bank data exchange, and the Fed’s ScamClassifier system to categorize and track scam types. These collective defenses, coupled with the inherent “push-only” design of real-time networks, have kept unauthorized fraud among the lowest in the industry.
For the moment, the perception gap remains wider than the risk gap. Fraud fears, not fraud facts, are holding the system back. Bridging that divide, the report concludes, will require more than technology — it will take clear communication and coordinated participation. As banks, regulators, and network operators align, the shift from fear to confidence could mark the moment real-time payments finally live up to their name.
