SRM Releases Report on the Impact of FedNow and the Outlook for Instant Payments in the United States

SRM, an independent advisory firm serving financial institutions across North America and Europe, released its new report titled "Examining the First Year of FedNow & the State of Instant Payments."

It has been just over a year since Federal Reserve Financial Services launched its FedNow® Service to provide a new set of instant payment rails. The Fed's move set a wave of bank and credit union activity in motion, empowering financial institutions to understand their payment options better and explore potential use cases for business and consumer clients.

The anniversary of FedNow's launch presents an opportunity to assess the outlook for instant payments in the United States. This report explores the current state of play, drawing on insights from SRM's July Market Pulse survey, which identifies the top motivators and barriers to adoption. Based on the rapid evolution of the instant payments landscape and supported by survey insights, the report discusses how the window for proactive adoption is rapidly closing and emphasizes the urgency for financial institutions to act by 2025 to stay competitive.

"SRM sees instant payments as an essential component of a financial institution's broader payments strategy," said Dean Nolan, Managing Director, SRM. "While our research highlights the primary concerns impeding adoption, we believe these barriers can be overcome and should not delay a well-crafted rollout. Every FI's strategic plan should look at payments holistically to ensure they offer a broad suite of payment solutions to meet their customer's needs and market demands."