FedNow Raises Transaction Cap to $10M

The Federal Reserve is significantly increasing the maximum transaction size for its FedNow real-time payments service. Starting in November, the cap will jump from $1 million to $10 million, the Fed announced Tuesday.

The move is designed to give banks and credit unions more flexibility in handling larger-scale transactions, including corporate payroll, internal fund transfers, vendor settlements, and real estate deals.

Currently, about 1,400 U.S. financial institutions are enrolled in FedNow — an 8% increase since April. Demand for instant payments is accelerating: the service processed 1.3 million transactions in Q1 2025 (a 43% rise over the previous quarter) and 2.1 million in Q2 (a 63% increase).

The Fed cited “growing demand from financial institutions and businesses” as the reason for lifting the cap. Earlier this year, it also introduced new risk management tools, such as account activity thresholds, allowing firms to tailor the service to their needs.

“Our second transaction limit increase this year reflects the growing demand for instant payments. Institutions need flexibility to serve customers and support internal processes,” said Mark Gould, Chief Payments Executive for Federal Reserve Financial Services.

Despite strong growth, FedNow faces steep competition from The Clearing House’s RTP network, which handled $481 billion in Q2 2025 — nearly double FedNow’s $246 billion in the same period.

The Fed’s higher ceiling signals confidence that real-time payments are moving from consumer-level transactions into the high-value business arena.