Small-business owners are readily adopting faster, more flexible payment methods that move cash in seconds rather than days. Real-time payouts have become a necessity for Main Street companies as many now rely on unpredictable one-off revenues (so-called “ad hoc” payments) that must arrive promptly.

Irregular client receipts already make up a majority of many SMBs’ inflows, which is roughly 57% of total small-business receivables, climbing to nearly 80% for the smallest firms. When more than half of a company’s billed sales depend on these payments, even a short delay in funding can create a cash crunch. Over the past year, adoption of instant-payment solutions has exploded, and the data are striking.

The Instant Payment Explosion: 61% of SMBs Now Using Ad Hoc Instant Payments

Recent data confirms that instant transfers are quickly going mainstream for smaller firms. Today, roughly 6 in 10 small businesses (about 61%) report having received at least one one-off payment instantly in the last year, up from approximately 59% a year ago. This signals that a majority of SMBs now get some of their irregular vendor or customer payouts via instant-rail services rather than waiting on slower ACH or paper methods. That’s because faster payments improve cash flow visibility by providing real-time account updates. Essentially, each instant deposit acts like a small cash injection, which flattens the peaks and troughs of cash flow.

Aside from the micro-businesses, even many larger small companies are catching up. One large U.S. bank reported that real-time payment usage among its mid-sized customers jumped from 62% to 77% in a single year, suggesting a broad market move toward immediacy. What started as a niche convenience (for gig platforms or quick payroll runs) is becoming a standard expectation across the SMB sector.

Smaller companies in particular are adopting real-time receipts at a breakneck pace. Among the smallest companies (those under $100,000 in annual revenue), the adoption curve is especially dramatic. The proportion of these micro-businesses that rely most heavily on one-off instant payments has more than tripled in a single year. Many micro-entrepreneurs now routinely select an instant payout option whenever they receive an unexpected payment (for example, on-demand insurance claim settlements or gig-platform payouts).

How Micro SMBs Tripled Their Instant Payment Reliance in One Year

Micro-SMBs often operate with razor-thin margins, and any delay can force painful trade-offs, postponing a supply order or delaying payroll to wait for cash. The speed advantage provided by instant rails has proved compelling for them. Tens of thousands of microbusinesses have shifted to instant disbursements, like ride-share drivers, freelance contractors, and gig workers who once waited weeks can now request and receive demand payment, typically within seconds.

The combined effect is an explosion of adoption in the micro segment. With instant usage tripling among the ultra-small firms, we see clear evidence that convenience and speed can drive extraordinary change when it matters most to a business’s survival. These trends also validate the many billing, payroll, and marketplace services now offering instant payouts as a standard feature; SMBs are voting with their acceptance of these offerings. If a small business can have its funds in hand today instead of next week for the same completed work, that timing change can be the difference between covering immediate costs or scrambling for credit.

FedNow vs RTP: Which Instant Payment Network Works Best for SMBs

Behind the scenes of this trend are two major real-time payment rails in the U.S. The first is The Clearing House’s RTP® network (live since 2017) and the Federal Reserve’s FedNow® Service (launched in July 2023). For small businesses, both networks achieve the same core benefit, 24/7/365 instant settlement, but they come from different origins. RTP was built by a consortium of large banks, while FedNow is provided by the Federal Reserve System.

One practical difference is eligibility; FedNow is open to any qualifying bank (meeting the Fed’s criteria), whereas the RTP network is limited to its consortium members. This means more community banks and credit unions can join FedNow to serve their customers.

Each network also has its transaction limits, where FedNow caps a single transfer at $500,000, while RTP allows up to $1,000,000. This might matter for huge payments, but most small-business transactions fall well within these thresholds. From an SMB’s viewpoint, the fees are similarly minimal; both systems charge only a few cents per transaction. Neither network creates a significant new cost for businesses. The end user doesn’t usually see a difference; funds that arrive instantly look the same whether they came via FedNow or RTP.

In current market adoption, RTP has had the head start: as of early 2023, an estimated 338 financial institutions were on the RTP network versus roughly 120 in the FedNow pilot. (That gap is closing as more banks complete FedNow onboarding.)

Small businesses should use whichever real-time option their bank supports. Many regional banks and credit unions now plan to offer both networks, ensuring customers can send or receive instant payments even if one rail is unavailable. The core point is that instant payment access is expanding across the board, and small businesses should take advantage of it rather than worry about the technical differences.

Calculating the True Cost of Slow Payments to Your Cash Flow

When payments take weeks instead of seconds to arrive, the effects on an SMB’s finances multiply. It’s a widespread problem as one report found that 86% of businesses struggle to collect nearly 30% of their invoiced sales on time, far above the typical ~5% that companies expect.

Every shortfall is a drain; those delays “can seriously drain” a small company’s cash flow. The hidden costs of slow receivables show up in several ways:

• A massive receivables backlog:

On average, more than half of all U.S. B2B invoice value is overdue on any given day. Surveys find that about 55% of the amounts billed to business customers go unpaid by the due date.

This means a typical small company has a massive chunk of its revenue stuck in others’ unpaid invoices, easily tens of thousands of dollars that aren’t in hand when needed.

• Significant unpaid sums per SMB:

A 2025 study found that 56% of small businesses had outstanding invoices, averaging about $17,500 owed per business. That’s cash these owners had already earned on paper but could not use for operations.

When nearly $18K is tied up in receivables, it limits the ability to restock inventory, meet payroll, or seize a new opportunity on short notice. It also raises the temptation to rely on costly credit or delay hiring to compensate.

• Severe cash-flow problems for the hardest-hit:

Not all SMBs are equally impacted by late payments, but those with chronic delays suffer much more. 50% of small companies with a high volume of overdue invoices reported cash-flow issues, compared to only 34% of firms whose receivables are mostly on time.

In other words, struggling to collect receivables makes a small business far more likely to face liquidity crunches. Those companies often must delay their vendor payments or draw on emergency credit to bridge the gap.

• Extra financing costs:

To bridge gaps caused by late payments, many SMBs turn to expensive credit. The data bear this out: businesses hampered by slow-paying customers report much higher use of loans, credit lines, and credit cards than their peers.

Those heavily affected by late receivables are about twice as likely to have taken out a business loan or tapped a line of credit in the last year. They also carry about 1.5 times more on their credit cards (as a percentage of limits) than firms with timely payers. All that borrowing adds interest and fees, further eroding profits.

• Wasted time and opportunities:

Finally, slow payments cost valuable time and focus. Owners and managers often spend hours chasing down late invoices instead of running or growing the business.

One study found that small-business leaders dedicate roughly 10% of their workday on average to following up on unpaid invoices. That’s time (and money) not spent on sales, service, or product development. Late payments can also strain vendor relationships and force a company to postpone hiring or other investments while cash is tied up.

Each of these costs, from lost liquidity to extra interest, adds up. Every day that a payment is stuck in limbo is an opportunity cost, money that could have earned interest, paid a supplier, or been reinvested is effectively frozen.

When viewed this way, it’s easier to see why many SMBs now willingly pay the few-cent fee for an instant transfer. The math is straightforward: quicker payments mean less borrowing, fewer finance charges, and more predictable budgeting.

Conclusion

The bottom line for American small businesses is clear: instant payments are no longer a fringe convenience but a fast-growing necessity. The ability to send or receive funds immediately has become crucial for firms managing tight cash flows and urgent obligations. With 61% of SMBs already getting at least some of their one-off payments in real time, and many more poised to switch, the trend is unmistakable. Both of the nation’s real-time networks (FedNow and RTP) serve the same end goal: keeping money moving without delay so businesses can operate smoothly.

As this trend accelerates, businesses that embrace faster rails will stay ahead. Whether a small business’s bank connects via RTP or FedNow (or both), the practical impact is the same: steadier cash flow and fewer shocks. Companies report healthier operations when funds arrive faster, relying less on costly credit and growing more confidently. In short, moving to instant payments is a proven strategy for SMBs to strengthen their finances and adapt more nimbly to changing needs. Every hour of payment delay eliminated is time put back into the business, and over time, these improvements add up to a real competitive advantage.