Businesses Embrace Real-Time Payments at the $10 Million Mark

A $10 million instant payment is no longer a fantasy — it’s the new normal as real-time payments revolutionize global finance.

PYMNTS Intelligence’s latest “Real-Time Payments World Map” revealed a surge in instant payment capabilities across the globe, as announcements focus on bringing faster payments to new use cases for consumers and businesses.

The moves to broaden the reach of the payments themselves across the global stage are being driven by a combination of FinTech innovation, partnerships and infrastructure upgrades.

The U.S. has seen a leap forward with The Clearing House raising the transaction limit of the RTP® network to $10 million, up from $1 million as of February. This has unlocked a host of new commercial use cases, allowing for high-value, instant intercompany transfers exemplified by BNY’s $10 million liquidity transaction for Computershare. Over 285,000 businesses are now using the RTP rail monthly, a testament to the growing corporate demand for instant payments.

North America and Beyond

In the United States, Orum’s Deliver API, powered by Visa Direct, now enables real-time fund transfers that reach 99% of U.S. bank accounts via linked debit cards. This API integrates with instant payment rails like the FedNow® Service and the RTP network, offering businesses and financial institutions a streamlined, efficient alternative to traditional ACH and wire transfers.

Meanwhile, ACI Worldwide and Ingo Payments launched ACI Speedpay Digital Disbursements in March, empowering businesses to offer multiple payout options, including real-time payments, PayPal, Venmo and ACH. This is especially crucial for scenarios demanding immediate disbursements, such as insurance payouts after natural disasters.

FinTech Jack Henry expanded its partnership with Mastercard, integrating Mastercard Move into its Rapid Transfers service. This enhancement, initially available through Jack Henry’s Banno Digital Platform (serving over 13 million users), enables near-instant domestic transfers, reflecting the sector’s growing appetite for faster, more reliable payment solutions.

In illustration of the international stage upon which instant payments can be launched, on the cross-border front, Nium connected its network to Canada’s Interac, enabling near-instant Canadian dollar payments and bringing its total instant payment corridors to over 100 worldwide. This includes systems like Singapore’s FAST, India’s UPI, and Europe’s SEPA Instant, making global transactions faster and more productive for businesses.

The momentum is not limited to the U.S. or North America. The report’s world map showed real-time payment systems live in dozens of countries across every continent, from Brazil’s Pix to Nigeria’s NIP and the United Kingdom’s Faster Payments System. Emerging economies are leading the charge, as India and Brazil together accounted for about 61% of global real-time payment transactions in 2022, underscoring their role in the digital payments revolution.

Brazil’s Pix network continues to be a powerhouse for digital inclusion, driving down the cost and friction of transactions and bringing millions of previously unbanked citizens into the financial system. The country’s leadership in instant payments adoption is mirrored across Latin America, where real-time payments are expanding and fostering financial inclusion for underserved populations.

As real-time payments become embedded in daily life, they are reshaping everything from consumer bill payments to cross-border B2B commerce. The expansion of instant payments networks is lowering transaction costs, increasing financial inclusion and enabling new business models. With over 80 real-time payments networks operating globally and transaction volumes projected to reach 512 billion by 2027, the era of instant money movement is just beginning.