On October 3rd, the RTP network processed a record-breaking daily transaction volume of 1,808,967 transactions valued at $5.2 billion.
The Clearing House, an alliance of leading financial institutions, launched the RTP network eight years ago. Since then, it has evolved into the largest instant payments system in the U.S., averaging over 1.3 million payments daily and now involving more than 1,000 participating financial institutions.
A Diverse Range of Applications
The network’s growth has expanded its use cases to include gig economy payouts, bank transfers, digital wallet loads, and business-to-business payments.
Expanding Use Cases for RTP Network
To increase B2B transactions, the Clearing House raised the RTP transaction limit from $1 million to $10 million. This strategy proved successful; Bank of America noted that over 50% of its corporate clients’ payments now exceed $1 million.
Main applications for these high-value payments include real estate deals, corporate treasury operations, and portfolio settlements.
Payouts and Merchants
Marketplace platforms and ride-share companies frequently use RTP for payouts. Gig workers expect immediate payment after completing jobs. For merchants, this boosts worker retention and cash management through real-time settlements and enhanced liquidity oversight.
The Bill Pay Use Case
A new bill pay solution from Truist uses an alias-based Request-for-Payment platform. It leverages 150 million existing mobile and email tokens to protect user data, making it accessible to both consumers and large corporate clients. This faster payment acknowledgment can significantly improve liquidity and cash flow management.
RTP’s Growth but Not Yet Ready for Retail
While RTP has expanded its use cases, the network still faces limitations in fully supporting retail environments due to a lack of request functionality. Currently, users can only send money, not initiate requests, which restricts the scope of these systems.
Despite this, adoption is rapidly increasing, indicating potential for new functionalities and wider application in the future.
