Instant payment rails are here, and they’re reshaping how money moves. This evolution isn’t just about speed: it’s about unlocking new ways to make money and redefine client relationships.

Why monetizing instant payments matters now

Financial services is undergoing a seismic shift. Instant payment rails – the digital infrastructure that lets money travel securely from a payer to a payee in real time – are no longer a thing of the future. In fact, more than 80 jurisdictions (representing 95% of global GDP) now support instant payment schemes – meaning the world is set to experience explosive growth in global real-time payments adoption. Instant payment transactions are projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 16–17%, reaching around 575 billion transactions by 2028 and accounting for nearly 30% of all electronic payments globally.

  • Customer expectations: instant payments are most in demand from recipients with frequent, high-value lending and income disbursement profiles. Statistically, 37% of US consumers who receive between $500 and $1,000 in income and earnings disbursements are willing to pay a fee to receive their funds straightaway.
  • Business needs: our World Payments Report 2025 noted that inefficient cash management – including poor forecasting, a lack of real-time visibility, and poor treasury decision making – costs businesses nearly 7%of revenue each year, translating to billions of dollars in trapped liquidity. Corporate customers expect instant, open payment rails that can show available funds in real time, post to receivables and payable straightaway, and offer continuous intraday liquidity insight.
  • Regulations: in October 2025, the EU Instant Payments Regulation came into force – requiring all euro-area banks to offer instant payments at the same cost as standard Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) transfers, with no transaction limits. At the same time, the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) intraday liquidity standards mandated real-time monitoring and stress testing, forcing banks to maintain higher liquidity buffers. The Boston Consulting Group estimates these buffers could represent 2–5% of total balance sheet exposure, significantly increasing operational costs.

In short: compliance isn’t optional – but it can become a differentiator. And the good news? Banks can monetize this shift and turn regulatory pressure into a strategic advantage.

Solving value chain complexities with instant capabilities

Our World Payments Report 2025 highlights just how willing firms are to pay for instant capabilities that streamline working capital, speed up collections, automate reconciliation, and de-risk high-value disbursements.

When it comes to commercial customers, different clients value instant payments for different reasons: some need faster access to working capital, some require tight integration with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or accounting systems, and others need specialized, high‑frequency payments that only instant rails can solve.

Here’s how some banks have tackled it:

  • Bulk payments: a leading bank in the UK implemented a solution that let automotive dealers receive bulk instant payments and collections using payment links. These could be sent over SMS, email, or embedded in ERP systems that support scheduled sends, recurring payments, group payouts, auto‑charge, and real‑time reconciliation.
  • Instant working capital triggers: a leading global bank launched a programmable payments platform so corporate clients could automate their escrow releases, milestone-based supplier payments, and liquidity sweeps in real time.
  • Just-in-time treasury and intra-day liquidity: a California-based community bank introduced the FedNow Service – an instant, always-on payments system that lets customers transfer money immediately, with funds available straightaway. The bank offered it to local government and real estate clients who had time‑critical closing and bond payment needs, so they could transfer up to $1 million 24/7. The bank charged just $10 for outbound FedNow Service payments for commercial accounts – well below an urgent wire fee.
  • Request to Pay (RtP) + e‑invoicing for instant collection: a global French bank simplified supplier payments for corporate clients by sending real‑time invoice messages and getting an immediate ‘pay’ or ‘decline’ status. This improved acceptance certainty and automated reconciliation.

Monetization models banks can leverage

So the question is: how can banks seize this opportunity to monetize? Two ways: through fee-based models, which they can build around niche industry use cases, and by simplifying corporate business workflows:

  • Workflow or programmability add‑ons: theseoffer bank‑side programmability (like triggers, conditions, and actions) to automate escrow or milestone releases and inventory‑linked supplier payments.
  • Reconciliation and receivables intelligence: banks can charge for virtual account hierarchies, auto‑match Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and dashboards.
  • Bundled treasury solutions: where banks combine instant payments with working-capital otimization, dynamic discounting, and fraud analytics.
  • Liquidity and investment products: banks can design interest-bearing accounts or sweep solutions that capitalize on instant settlement, to generate fee-based revenue.

How banks can lead the instant payment wave

To stand out in the market, banks need to create solutions that solve real business challenges and deliver measurable value. That means:

  • Scaling instant payments and strengthening core processes: moving from batch to real-time payments, modernizing their payment engines, and enabling 24/7 RtP access – as well as implementing payee verification, real-time sanctions screening, and liquidity management.
  • Prioritizing friction-free integration: orchestrating instant payment solutions that connect seamlessly with their existing accounting and ERP systems through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) or plug-ins – so they can initiate and reconcile payments as part of their current workflows.
  • Monetizing with tailor-made offers: industry context matters – and logistics, utilities, retail, insurance, marketplaces, and gig‑economy platforms all monetize instant speed differently. That means banks need to create vertical, niche solutions rather than one-size-fits-all products.

Instant payments are more than a feature: they’re a growth engine. Banks that act now will capture new revenue streams, deepen client relationships, and secure a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving financial ecosystem.