Real-time payments are steadily moving from the edge of B2B finance toward the center of how businesses manage suppliers, liquidity and operations. While checks, cards and ACH still dominate business payments today, companies are increasingly exploring how instant payment rails, such as the RTP® network and the FedNow Service®, can improve speed, cash flow visibility and operational efficiency.
This report examines why momentum around real-time B2B payments is accelerating and what still stands in the way of broader adoption. Based on a survey of 271 senior finance and payments executives, the research finds that businesses already using instant payment methods consistently rate them higher than traditional payment methods across nearly every major business outcome measured. Companies report benefits that go well beyond faster settlement, including stronger supplier relationships, more precise liquidity management, improved reconciliation and better visibility into payment flows.
The report also shows that adoption isn’t limited to experimentation. More than half of businesses say they expect to adopt real-time payment rails within the next two years, with many planning to move much sooner. Larger firms managing more complex treasury operations are especially likely to see strategic value in instant payments as they look for greater control over working capital and supplier interactions.
At the same time, the findings make clear that the biggest challenge isn’t resistance to instant payments themselves. Instead, businesses say the ability to integrate real-time rails directly into ERP, treasury and accounting systems will determine how quickly adoption scales. The companies that solve those workflow and integration challenges first may gain meaningful operational and competitive advantages as instant payments become more embedded in everyday B2B commerce.
In “Ready and Willing: B2B Payments Are Headed for Real-Time Rails. Here’s How They’re Getting There,” learn how:
- Businesses using real-time payment rails rate their return on investment significantly higher than companies that have yet to adopt instant payment methods.
- ERP, treasury and accounting system integration is emerging as the single biggest factor shaping the future of B2B payment modernization.
- The RTP network and FedNow are developing along different adoption paths as businesses weigh supplier reach, operational fit and treasury performance.
About the Report
“Ready and Willing: B2B Payments Are Headed for Real-Time Rails. Here’s How They’re Getting There,” a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence and The Clearing House, is based on a survey of 271 senior finance and payments executives conducted between March 11-26, 2026. Respondents include CFOs, controllers, treasurers, vice presidents and directors of finance and payments, heads of payments and finance, and business owners at companies with at least $1 million in annual revenue that had sent B2B payments in the past 12 months.
