United States · Account Transfer · Est. 2017
The first modern US instant payment system, operated by The Clearing House (owned by 22 of the largest US banks). RTP launched in 2017 and supports credit transfers up to $1M with immediate finality — no chargebacks or returns. It also offers Request for Payment (RfP) messaging for bill pay and invoicing. While FedNow provides Fed-backed infrastructure, RTP has a head start with broader bank connectivity and higher transaction limits, and processes the majority of US instant payment volume today.
RTP is United States’s real-time payment system (Account Transfer), launched in 2017. The first modern US instant payment system, operated by The Clearing House (owned by 22 of the largest US banks).
RTP processed 450.0 million transactions worth $567.0bn in 2025, a year-on-year change of +31.2%.
RTP is operated by The Clearing House, with instant settlement.
RTP launched in 2017, and today has 500 participating institutions.
RTP supports request-to-pay, ISO 20022 messaging.
Data source: The Clearing House.
| Capability | Status |
|---|---|
| QR Code Payments | — |
| Wallet Support | — |
| 24/7 Availability | ✓ |
| Cross-Border | — |
| ISO 20022 | ✓ |
| Request to Pay | ✓ |
| Open API | ✓ |
| Alias/Proxy | — |