Overview

Mercator Advisory Group's research note, Seizing the Opportunity of a U.S. Real-Time Network, explores the opportunity as well as the complexities involved in the development of a single national payments platform and how other countries, including many important U.S. trading partners, have approached the significant effort involved in providing real-time or near-real-time posting of payments.

“The U.S. has really just begun to think seriously about how a real-time payments platform would take shape. There are many challenging questions to consider regarding cost, leadership, ongoing management, and if a business case for faster payments really exists for its stakeholders,” comments Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group and co-author of the research note.

This research note has 12 pages and 3 exhibits. 

Organizations mentioned in this research note include: ACI Worldwide, FIS, Paym, SWIFT, VocaLink, and YouGov. 

 Highlights of this research note include: 

  • The critical components of a real-time payment network

  • Use cases 

  • Review of real-time payment solution around the world

  • Hurdles the United States faces in the planning for a national solution

Book a Meeting with the Author

Related content

February 25, 2026
One Year On: Tariff Impacts on U.S. Imports and What They Mean for Treasury and Payments

The 2025 tariff regime triggered sharp, policy driven shifts in U.S. import patterns, with tariffs reliably pushing trade away from high duty lanes and toward lower duty or exempte...

January 23, 2026
Faster Funds by Fiat: A Global Comparison of Payment Timing Regulations

Governments want big businesses to pay suppliers faster, and they are using legislation to influence payment timing, with varying degrees of success. This report categorizes the ma...

December 11, 2025
2025 Commercial Payments Year in Review

The 2025 Commercial Payments Year in Review report distills the headline stories in commercial payments, from stablecoins moving into the mainstream and agentic AI entering network...

Make informed decisions in a digital financial world

Let's Connect