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FPC report offers in-depth comparison of established, emerging payment rails

Thursday, September 10, 2026 — 18:36:45 (UTC)

U.S. Faster Payments Council Report Offers In-Depth Comparison of Established and Emerging Payment Rails

Sept. 10, 2026 – The U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC), a membership organization devoted to advancing safe, easy-to-use faster payments in the United States, today announced the publication of a new report from the FPC Digital Assets Work Group: A Comprehensive Look at the U.S. Faster Payments Landscape for Optimal Operation.

The report examines the growing range of payment options available in the United States and provides a detailed comparison of the FedNow® Service, RTP® Network, Visa® Direct, Mastercard Send™, Same Day ACH, stablecoins, and tokenized deposits. It explores how these options differ across settlement, finality, speed, transaction limits, fraud management, governance, liquidity, and other key characteristics.

“This report is a strong example of the valuable industry insight the U.S. Faster Payments Council brings to the market,” said Larry Pruss, Managing Director at Strategic Resource Management (SRM) and Vice Chair of the Digital Assets Work Group. “The depth and diversity of experience across the team is evident throughout the work, providing a comprehensive and practical perspective on the evolving U.S. faster payments landscape.”

The report highlights the distinct functionality that different payment methods can offer. The FedNow Service and RTP Network provide domestic instant settlement, while Visa Direct and Mastercard Send support card-based disbursements and broader reach. Same Day ACH remains an important option for high-volume batch payments. At the same time, stablecoins and tokenized deposits are introducing programmable capabilities and new approaches to settlement.

Beyond analyzing individual payment options, the report examines the operational considerations that can influence how organizations determine the right approach for a particular use case. These include funds availability, settlement certainty, messaging and data capabilities, liquidity management, fraud prevention and mitigation, governance, and programmability. The report also explores interoperability challenges across the U.S. payments landscape and the growing importance of payment orchestration.

“The U.S. faster payments landscape is becoming more diverse, and the availability of rails with different features provides users with options to meet their needs,” said Reed Luhtanen, FPC Executive Director and CEO. “This report gives organizations a valuable resource for understanding the characteristics of each option and considering how they can work together. By bringing these different approaches into one resource, we hope to help the industry better understand the opportunities ahead and how faster payments can deliver greater value.”

The report also explores how faster payment options can support a wide range of use cases, including earned wage access, insurance claim payouts, B2B payments, treasury and cash concentration, consumer bill pay, government disbursements, Pay by Bank, loan disbursements, and brokerage sweeps. By examining these applications alongside the characteristics of each payment option, the report provides additional context for organizations evaluating which approaches may best align with their business and customer needs.

The full report, A Comprehensive Look at the U.S. Faster Payments Landscape for Optimal Operation, is available for download from the FPC's Faster Payments Knowledge Center.

For more information on the FPC, its current work efforts or to join, visit FasterPaymentsCouncil.org.

Contact: Elizabeth Grice U.S. Faster Payments Council 720-737-7368 egrice@fasterpaymentscouncil.org

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Source: Company press release.

Categories: Reports and research