HIFI Supports Real-time Payments

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Real-time payments are instant, irrevocable bank-to-bank transfers that settle the moment they clear.

In the US, two networks enable this: RTP, operated by The Clearing House, and FedNow, operated by the Federal Reserve. HIFI supports both.

Unlike ACH, which batches and settles on a schedule, real-time payments process and finalize immediately. They support both credit push payments and request-for-payment flows, and run on ISO 20022 messaging for richer transaction data.

In short: real-time payments enable instant settlement and finality for domestic transfers.

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What Real-Time Payments + HIFI Enables

For businesses moving money through HIFI, real-time payments open up a fast, low-cost US rail alongside our existing bank and blockchain infrastructure. Developers can use real-time payments for both inflows and outflows:

Inflows — Fund accounts or receive payments instantly from any bank connected to RTP or FedNow. A platform user looking to fund their HIFI-powered wallet sends money via Stripe, Wise, Rippling, or any RTP or FedNow-enabled sender and the balance lands immediately.

Outflows — off-ramp through HIFI and land funds in a US bank account in real time via real-time payment. A user looking to move funds off-chain and into their bank account converts their holdings and the dollars arrive in seconds.

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Real-Time Payments in Practice

Things to keep in mind when implementing real-time payments:

• Push-only. Real-time payments only support sender initiated transactions. This makes it complementary to, not a replacement for, use cases that rely on debits like recurring billing or loan payments.
• US-only availability. Real-time payments are domestic rails, so funds need to be in a US account before they can move. The majority of US demand deposit accounts are reachable via real-time payments, but gaps remain among smaller banks and credit unions.
• Irrevocable. Real-time payments are irreversible. This is both a feature for recipients (guaranteed good funds), and a tradeoff for senders (errors can't be undone).

Given these constraints, redundancy is particularly important with real-time payments. HIFI's support for ACH, wire, SWIFT, and onchain rails gives developers the flexibility to match the right rail to the right flow.

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