Higher Limits Power B2B Real-Time Payment Volumes
An Increase in Use Cases Are Driving RTP Acceptance
The Clearing House raised the real-time payments (RTP) transaction limit from $1 million to $10 million in February 2025. Since the increase, Bank of America (BofA) reports that transactions over $1 million now account for more than half the total value of U.S. real-time payments processed for corporate clients. Rival network FedNow raised its own limit from $500,000 to $1 million on June 24, 2025.
Impact on B2B Payments
Being one of the owners of The Clearing House, BofA played a significant role in developing the RTP® network in consultation with peer banks, technology firms, and the U.S. Federal Reserve. The bank is among the first to allow corporate clients to send payments up to the new $10 million limit, driving new business-to-business (B2B) use cases. As of July 2024, businesses made up about 80% of RTP transactions, but 95% of payments were received by consumers, indicating untapped potential for higher-value B2B payments. The increased limit enables instant payments to suppliers, contractors, and vendors, improving inventory management, cash flow, supply chain efficiency, and payment processes.
RTP Industry Implications
BofA’s adoption and public announcement are expected to increase industry-wide use of real-time payments. Sharing new use cases helps educate the broader ecosystem, encouraging more adoption and innovation.
The increase in limits has positioned RTP as a stable, reliable alternative to traditional wire transfers for high-value transactions, with large institutions like BofA demonstrating confidence in RTP’s security and reliability. The immediate jump in high-value RTP transactions after the limit increase signals strong demand for RTP as a wire transfer substitute. FedNow’s higher transaction limit is expected to gain increased B2B acceptance and use as well.
The increase in the transaction limits for RTP and FedNow facilitates new B2B payment use cases, especially for high-value transactions, and is expected to accelerate the adoption of real-time payments across the U.S. financial industry. If nothing else, there are clear benefits for financial executives and their customers when receipt of payment is required before goods can be shipped.