Instant Payments

In May 2022, Routable introduced support for the creation of Instant Payments via the Real-Time Payments (RTP) network. We added support for FedNow in August 2025, increasing the coverage of accounts that can receive Instant Payments to include more financial institutions that do not participate in the RTP network such as smaller credit unions and community banks. Between the two networks, Routable's Instant Payments offering can now send funds in seconds, 24/7/365, to more than 85% of bank accounts in the United States.

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Want to add FedNow? Good news - you're already done!

If you implemented Instant Payments via RTP in the Routable API prior to the addition of FedNow, you don't have to change anything in your code to start taking advantage of FedNow. You'll just see a higher percentage of banks that support sending money lightning-quick!

While ACH and Instant Payments are both types of account-to-account bank transfers, there are some important differences:

💸 Instant Payments are final and irrevocable. No settlement time is required, so your vendor receives their funds instantaneously.
💸 Instant Payments are available year-round, without being delayed due to weekends or banking holidays, and funds become available in almost real time.

When using Instant Payments, Routable will automatically route your payments via RTP or FedNow, depending on the capabilities of the pay_to_payment_method. Some banks support the RTP Network, some support FedNow, and some support both or neither. You won’t need to worry about which network is supported; Routable will choose the best available option for you to get the payment processed. (If the vendor’s bank supports both RTP and FedNow, the transfer will be performed over the RTP Network.)

The fee structure for Instant Payments is the same whether the payment is processed over RTP or FedNow.

How to use Instant Payments in the Routable API

Use the real_time_payment delivery_method with type=ach in your Create a Payable call.
The withdraw_from_account in your Create a Payable call must reference the Account ID for your Routable balance account. You can find this ID using the List Accounts endpoint.

Because Instant Payments are final, they cannot be canceled once they are initiated.

The vendor's pay_to_payment_method must be of type: bank.

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Not all banks support receiving real-time payments

Not all banks support receiving Instant Payments. Between RTP and FedNow, between 85% and 90% of US bank accounts are covered. To check whether your vendor's bank can accept Instant Payments, call the List Payment Methods endpoint. If the delivery_options array for type ach on a given a PaymentMethod contains real_time_payment, the bank supports receiving Instant Payments.

See below for an example response.

{
  "object":"PaymentMethod",
  "id":"cecf67c0-4671-44fe-9a51-b31cdbee65b1",
  "type":"bank",
  "type_details":{
    "account_number":"XXX3210",
    "account_type":"checking",
    "institution_name":"Citibank",
    "routing_number":"021000021"
  },
  "created_at":"2020-01-24T14:15:22+00:00",
  "delivery_method":"ach",
  "delivery_methods": { 
    "ach": [
       "ach_same_day",
       "ach_next_day",
       "ach_expedited",
       "ach_standard",
       "real_time_payment" // This bank account supports Instant Payments
     ]
  }, 
  "is_created_by_company":true,
  "is_preferred_by_company":true,
  "is_primary":true,
  "name":"Citibank ***3210",
  "links":{
    "self":"https://api.sandbox.routable.com/v1/companies/ec60d364-9100-4728-a3cb-0f200a8a0f5d/payment-methods/cecf67c0-4671-44fe-9a51-b31cdbee65b1",
    "company":"https://api.sandbox.routable.com/v1/companies/ec60d364-9100-4728-a3cb-0f200a8a0f5d"
  }
}