Why Pushing for RTP is NOT the Answer to Check Fraud
- There is more concern about real-time payments than the data justifies
- Adoption of RTP has been slow thus far
- Nevertheless, many believe RTP will eventually replace check payments
When it comes to payment fraud, fear and reality aren’t always aligned—a fact highlighted in the August 2025 report from PYMNTS Intelligence and The Clearing House, “Fact vs. Fiction in Real-Time Payments Fraud.” The central message? Banks are significantly more concerned about security risks in real-time payments than the data justifies.
In fact, according the PYMNTS.com, fraud Is 31x more likely on checks than real-time payments.
According to the report, “financial institutions are disproportionately worried about fraud risks in real-time payments, even as those same rails show the lowest fraud rates in the industry.”
As we noted in a previous blog post:
In 2024, 63% of U.S. firms reported check fraud, compared to only 2% reporting fraud connected to RTP or FedNow. For example, just 123 fraudulent events occurred out of 35 million RTP transactions analyzed in April 2025—a rate far below other payment types.
Slow Adoption of RTP
According to PYMNTS.com, 78% of organizations choose to start their real-time implementation in receive-only mode, a risk-avoidance strategy that limits the value of faster payments and stalls ecosystem-wide adoption. Only 22% of banks have embraced full send-and-receive functionality.
However, their fears may be misplaced:
Part of the problem may be optics. Fraud that does occur on real-time rails — such as authorized push payment (APP) scams — tends to make headlines, while the day-to-day security wins go unnoticed. Still, tools like Confirmation of Payee (CoP) have near-universal support (96% of banks) and have already cut fraud 60% in the U.K. market. In the U.S., however, partial adoption risks rerouting fraud to less protected institutions.
Is RTP the Solution for Check Fraud?
The short answer: No.
It appears that many industry publications and pundits believe that RTP is the answer to check fraud; a major factor, of course, is whether the US will completely eliminate check payments. Currently, many individuals and business continue to use checks because it's engrained in their processes and behavior. Even if there are tangible benefits to adoption, they will remain resistance to change.
As for those who believe we can eliminate checks, we see from major examples like the UK that it's extremely difficult to eliminate a payment from large economies -- particularly when there is major resistance. Even if you believe in major adoption of RTP, as long as check payments are accepted individuals and businesses will continue to utilize them, and fraudsters will exploit them.
Rather than trying to shift the behaviors of businesses and individuals, financial institutions should instead deploy technology to better detect on-us and deposit fraud. Believing that your customers will change their behavior and processes is a pipe dream -- and forcing them to utilize a technology they do not want can lead to them switching to a competitor.