The State of Play in U.S. Faster Payments report provides an update on the market for instant and immediate payments services in the United States, focusing on the various underlying payment networks. This initial report, which will be updated and augmented on a regular basis, focuses on instant and immediate payments networks, those in which the transmission of the payment message and the availability of final funds to the payee occur in real-time or near real-time, and on as near to a 24-hour and seven-day (24/7) basis as possible.

“There are a growing number of faster payment networks that both consumers and businesses in the United States can choose from today,” said Steve Ledford, SVP at The Clearing House and FPC Network Committee Chair. “Each network has different characteristics, features, and solutions for the variety of use cases enabled by faster payments—with no single network offering it all. I’m incredibly proud of the collaborative effort by the Network Committee to create a valuable resource for financial institutions and payment service providers to use as a guide while selecting the networks that best meet their needs.”

Through examination of the faster payments landscape, the new report highlights ways in which consumers and businesses are using faster payments today, and how these applications have addressed the challenges of COVID-19. The resource also breaks down features of the networks, from types of transactions processed (credits vs. debits) to the fraud and risk control measures in place for each. In addition, it provides a true illustration and understanding of how funds move on the networks, delivering a clear picture of the real-time transactional process.

“As a member of the FPC Network Committee and the Zelle Network® operator enabling fast, safe and easy payments, we were pleased to be able to contribute to the first State of Play in U.S. Faster Payments report,” said Laura Weinflash, vice president and FI Journey Master at Early Warning Services, LLC. “Early Warning has been actively involved in the Faster Payments Council since its inception. It is our hope that these reports will further advance the education that our industry needs to effectively drive faster payments adoption in the United States.”

The report contains detailed profiles of both core clearing and settlement networks and value-added networks or overlays built on top of core payments infrastructure. Represented in the U.S. Faster Payments Council, these networks include the FedNowSM Service, Junifunds®, Mastercard Send, Open Payment Network, RTP® Network, Visa Direct, and Zelle®. Subsequent updates to the State of Play in U.S. Faster Payments will include additional profiles of faster payment networks not represented in the first report.

“One of the main objectives of the FPC is to drive awareness and rich dialogue around the current and future state of faster payments in the United States,” said FPC Executive Director Reed Luhtanen. “The work that has gone into this latest report is a perfect example of how our members are collaborating and problem-solving on a regular basis as we advance the payments system toward our vision. With several more deliverables on the near horizon, we’re looking forward to our membership continuing to share their insights and expertise with the industry at large.”

The FPC Network Committee previously released a Faster Payments Interoperability white paper that explored different models that can connect systems together to achieve payments interoperability such as point of origination, network to network, or with an intermediary, and how settlement could work in those models. The white paper is also available for download in the Faster Payments Knowledge Center.

The FPC prioritizes industry collaboration in tackling complex topics such as interoperability among faster payments solutions, identifying real-world solutions that can ease adoption of faster payments, managing security risks and fraud threats, addressing barriers to cross border payments, and more, as the organization paves the way toward a future of faster payments for all.