More consumers and businesses than ever before benefited from real-time payments on the RTP network in 2024, the largest instant payments system in the U.S. operated by The Clearing House.
In 2024, payment value on the network jumped 94 percent from the previous year, logging in at $246 billion, while volume surged 38 percent to 343 million transactions. Additionally, the network heads into 2025 having experienced a record 98 million transactions valued at $80 billion in Q4 2024, representing 12 percent volume growth and a 16 percent increase in value from Q3.
“Once Americans experience the ease, speed, and convenience of instant payments on the RTP network, they want to use it again and again,” Margaret Weichert, chief product officer at The Clearing House, said in a release. “Customers benefit from the network’s immediate availability of funds and 24/7 availability, with 42 percent of transactions taking place overnight, on weekends, or holidays.”
More than 285,000 businesses, through financial institutions on the system, are utilizing the RTP network each month for business-to-business transactions, including supply chain payments, bill pay, merchant settlement, and more.
These transactions helped increase the average transaction value by 40 percent. In 2024, the average payment value was $719, up from $514 in 2023. On Feb. 9, the individual transaction limit will increase to $10 million. The new limit supports growth on the network in areas including real estate, cash concentration, and business-to-business transactions that require larger transaction amounts.
The RTP network finished 2024 on a strong note which is expected to continue into 2025. The network now averages over 1 million payments per day, with 74 percent of days in December 2024 at or over 1 million transactions.