Real-time payments adoption is still in its infancy in the US. But business and consumer demand are increasing, providing a growth opportunity for banks and customer-facing payment providers.

Despite growing demand, the ACH Network may struggle to keep up this momentum as real-time competitors advance

Consumer payment method choice will expand in 2025 as real-time “pay by bank,” iPhone NFC access, and digital credentials take center stage. And financial media networks will turn more payment providers into marketers.

Two US payment systems—FedNow and the RTP network—are driving real-time payments growth. New features, industry innovation, and emerging use cases will help them overcome implementation hurdles.

B2B is the largest segment of US payment volume. We expect US B2B payment value to grow 3.6% annually in 2024, led by ACH and cards.

In the fourth of five reports in our “Payments Ecosystem” collection, we look at what’s influencing growth across P2P, remittance, bill pay, payroll, and B2B transactions—and what it means for payment providers.

The payments giant wants to convert more cash and check payments, ACH and electronic transactions, and global card transactions

Small and medium-sized businesses will account for almost half of the $35 trillion B2B payments market this year. They have been slow to digitize, handing B2B payment providers a unique set of needs to address.

Acquirers, networks, and issuers each play distinct roles in the payments purchasing chain. But those roles are shifting as providers adapt to the rise of software and value-added services, increased payment method choice, and cloud-based innovation.

The Clearinghouse’s RTP Network and Nacha’s Same Day ACH network face steeper competition in Q3 from FedNow

Consumer device and behavior trends are affecting payment providers’ strategies across retail, P2P, B2B, disbursement, and cross-border channels. Here’s what that means for the payments ecosystem.

Economic uncertainty and rapid technological innovation are shifting industry dynamics for players across the payments ecosystem, including acquirers and processors, networks, and issuers.

Digital payment methods continue to displace cash and checks in the US payments ecosystem. But after a pandemic-driven crest, growth is moderating amid economic uncertainty, resetting the stakes for share of wallet.

Small and medium-sized businesses are looking to close the automation gap when it comes to accounts payable and receivable. To capture the growing market, banks and software providers must tailor solutions to current SMB needs.

Payments Ecosystem: Acquirers and processors, networks, and issuers each play distinct roles in the payments purchasing chain. But those roles are shifting amid commoditization, new competitive dynamics, and technological innovation.

Payments Ecosystem: This year will reveal how providers must adapt to lasting pandemic-driven digitization across payments channels, ranging from in-store retail to B2B ecommerce.

Payments Ecosystem: Diminishing analog payment use—as well as the battle for share between entrenched electronic payment methods and emerging challengers—will intensify the battle for customer spending this year.

ACH payments rose as card payments made a surprising drop, and consumers tried out new payment types.

Digitization is disrupting the B2B payments space, the largest addressable payments market. As the industry evolves, there will be a substantial opportunity for payment providers to meet changing preferences and capture market share.