Download the latest Embedded Finance Tracker®, a Galileo and PYMNTS collaboration. 

2025 is emerging as a critical juncture for banks to implement real-time payment capabilities. As adoption of instant payment rails accelerates across the United States, financial institutions face increasing pressure to meet growing customer expectations–or risk losing market share to more innovative competitors.

As David Feuer, Chief Product Officer at Galileo, notes: "As real-time payments gain momentum, banks face a defining moment in 2025. Those that swiftly adopt instant payment capabilities will secure a competitive edge to meet rising consumer and corporate demands."

Read on to learn why the time is now for banks to get on board with the emerging opportunity of real-time payments.  

The Accelerating Growth of Real-Time Payment Rails

Both The Clearing House's RTP network and the Federal Reserve's FedNow Service have achieved significant milestones in the past year, with combined daily volumes regularly exceeding 1 million transactions. The RTP network alone saw 67% growth in financial institution participation in 2024, and in the year’s fourth quarter processed 98 million transactions, valued at a total of $80 billion. Those figures represented a 12% volume increase and a 16% increase in total value from the previous quarter, according to The Clearing House. 

That robust growth trajectory is expected to continue, with projections from the Faster Payments Council indicating that instant payments as a whole will constitute 16% of the global payments mix by 2027, increasing to 22% by 2028. Meanwhile, between 70% and 80% of all financial institutions are anticipated to have real-time payment reception capabilities by 2028, according to the Council.

Corporate and Consumer Demand Driving Adoption

The pressure for banks to implement real-time payment solutions is coming from both business and retail clients, research indicates. 

For corporate clients, real-time payments have become increasingly non-negotiable, as they streamline operations, reduce processing times, and mitigate delayed payment risks. These capabilities are essential for businesses to maintain steady cash flow and meet their own payment obligations.

The consumer use-case also is compelling, with 52% of retail banks surveyed by Capgemini  planning to make adoption of consumer-facing instant payment a top priority in 2025.

Banks that already have adopted instant payments have seen the strategy already bear fruit in the form of positive impacts on customer satisfaction and retention, research reveals. 

The Urgency of Action in 2025

With more than two-thirds of U.S. companies planning to join either the RTP network or FedNow Service within the next two years, 2025 represents a critical window of opportunity for banks. Financial institutions that act quickly to establish strong real-time payment capabilities will be better positioned to meet customer expectations, enhance satisfaction, boost retention, and unlock new revenue streams.

For more information on how banks can capture the fast-emerging real-time payments opportunity, download the latest Embedded Finance Tracker®, a Galileo and PYMNTS collaboration.