FedNow Readies Cross-Border and Payment Request Pilots

Three years after the Federal Reserve launched the FedNow® Service, the instant payment infrastructure serves 1,800 financial institutions, including seven of the 10 largest banks, and reaches over half of all U.S. checking and savings accounts.

“With strong, double-digit volume growth and billions in value transacted every day, plus new use cases continually hitting the market, instant payments are accelerating toward the mainstream,” Nick Stanescu, executive vice president and chief FedNow executive, said in a Q&A released by the Federal Reserve to mark the three-year anniversary of the FedNow Service.

Examples of how organizations are using the FedNow Service include the U.S. Treasury’s Digital Payoutprogram sending federal emergency relief disbursements, a lending technology provider and a corporate credit union enabling embedded instant financing options for electric vehicles on the manufacturer’s website, andIntuit getting ready to expand instant payments and enable small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to get paid faster, Stanescu said.

Upcoming enhancements to the FedNow Service include making the FedACH® Services’ payee name verification tool available for FedNow users via an application programming interface (API), launching enhanced ISO 20022 message formats that will lay the groundwork for the FedNow Service to enable cross-border payments, and launching a request for payment (RFP) pilot that will accelerate the adoption of RPF, Stanescu said.

“As adoption grows, our focus remains clear: Build the capabilities that matter most to participants and make instant payments easier, safer and more powerful for everyone,” Stanescu said.

To support the FedNow Service’s fraud and risk protections, Federal Reserve Financial Services will team up with The Clearing House to jointly co-chair a newly established X9 Fraud Forum. This forum will enable organizations to “collaborate and strengthen the security and seamlessness of payment experiences,” Stanescu said.

For participants looking to get the most out of the FedNow Service, Stanescu suggested experimenting with its capabilities and weaving instant payments into everyday customer experiences.

“My advice is to pick one or two high-impact use cases — like account funding, bill pay or payroll — and bring them to market this year,” Stanescu said. “Treat instant payments as a core part of your digital strategy, not a stand-alone rail. Instant is quickly becoming table stakes, and there’s strong opportunity for participants to expand into higher-value use cases.”

When the FedNow Service launched on July 20, 2023, PYMNTS reported that it was the first nationwide payments infrastructure to be implemented in about 40 years.

The FedNow Service started with 35 institutions and expanded to include more than 1,500 by November 2025, Stanescu told PYMNTS in an interview posted at that time. He said banks were finding that the FedNow Service can help them compete more efficiently in a market that seeks faster payments and rewards speed and reliability.