RTGS
Banking NetworkRTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) is a payment system where transactions are settled individually and immediately, eliminating settlement risk between banks.
In an RTGS system, each payment is settled as soon as it is received — there is no batching, no netting, and no delay. Settlement risk (the risk that the other party defaults between trade and settlement) is eliminated because each transfer completes in real time.
Fedwire (US) and CHAPS (UK) are examples of RTGS systems for large-value payments. Their ISO 20022 migrations have already completed (Fedwire March 2025, CHAPS 2023), establishing the domestic RTGS rails that cross-border ISO 20022 corridors rely on as their end-points.
XRP and HBAR both have RTGS-like properties at the blockchain layer: final settlement in 3-5 seconds with no rollback possibility. This is structurally superior to most legacy RTGS systems that still settle in minutes to hours despite the "real-time" label.
Crypto Relevance
XRP's 3-5 second finality makes it functionally an RTGS layer for cross-border payments — the argument is that a crypto-based RTGS corridor is cheaper, faster, and doesn't require bilateral central bank relationships.
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Join ISO 20022 investorsRelated Terms
Fedwire
Fedwire is the US Federal Reserve's real-time gross settlement system for large-value USD transfers, which completed its ISO 20022 migration in March 2025.
SWIFT
SWIFT is the messaging network connecting 11,000+ financial institutions in 200+ countries for cross-border payments, currently completing its ISO 20022 migration.
Nostro/Vostro Accounts
Nostro and Vostro accounts are correspondent banking accounts banks maintain at each other to pre-fund cross-border payments — the trapped capital that ODL aims to eliminate.
CBPR+
CBPR+ is the SWIFT-governed ISO 20022 standard that all banks must adopt for cross-border payments, replacing the legacy MT message suite.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-17