Real-time gross settlement (RTGS)
Real-time gross settlement (RTGS) is the settlement of payments individually, transaction by transaction, as they are processed. Central bank RTGS systems such as Fedwire, CHAPS and T2 settle large-value payments in central bank money with immediate finality.
How it works
The CPMI defines RTGS as the real-time settlement of payments individually on a transaction-by-transaction basis. Gross means each payment settles for its full value rather than being offset against others. The alternative, deferred net settlement, settles net positions at the end of a set cycle.
Fedwire Funds transfers are immediate, final and irrevocable once processed. The Fedwire business day runs from 9:00 p.m. ET on the previous evening to 7:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday, with a 6:45 p.m. deadline for transfers for third parties. The Federal Reserve plans to extend Fedwire to 22 hours a day, Sunday to Friday, in 2028 or 2029. CHAPS is usually open from 6am to 6pm UK time on business days. T2 settles euro payments one by one with immediate finality and no upper or lower value limit. India's RTGS, launched in 2004, is available 24x7.
Because every payment must be fully funded, RTGS systems need a lot of liquidity. T2 offers liquidity-saving features such as payment priorities, reservations and optimisation. For payment firms, RTGS hours set the window in which large top-ups to a payout partner can land.
Example
A firm must fund a US partner with $5,000,000 before the weekend. The wire must reach Fedwire before the 6:45 p.m. ET Friday deadline for third-party transfers. If it misses that, it settles on Monday's business day and the partner pays weekend volume from its existing balance.
Frequently asked questions
Is RTGS the same as an instant payment system?
No. RTGS describes how banks settle with each other. FedNow settles gross in real time, but UPI settles between banks on a deferred net basis while still crediting end users at once.
Why does RTGS finality matter for treasury?
A final RTGS credit cannot be unwound if the sending bank fails, so it is safe cover for releasing payouts. Funds that are still in a net settlement cycle are not yet final.
Where Polynopsis fits
Polynopsis shows each corridor's balance against the next payout batch, so a top-up can be sent before the RTGS cut-off that decides whether it lands today.
Compared with
Related terms
Sources
- A glossary of terms used in payments and settlement systems · Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, Bank for International Settlements
- Fedwire Funds Services · Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- CHAPS · Bank of England
- T2 · European Central Bank
- Payment System Report, December 2025 · Reserve Bank of India
- Fast payments: design and adoption, BIS Quarterly Review, March 2024 · Bank for International Settlements
- Federal Reserve action to expand Fedwire Funds Service and National Settlement Service operating hours (Federal Register notice, October 2025) · Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.
About Polynopsis
Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.
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