Account-to-account payment specialist Dwolla has enhanced its platform by integrating the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service, creating a unified solution for businesses to access the two major U.S. instant payment networks. The move combines the new FedNow rail with the existing RTP network, leveraging an intelligent orchestration system to simplify and expand real-time money movement for its clients.
This enhancement is set to significantly increase the reach of instant payments, nearly doubling the number of U.S. financial institutions businesses can connect with. By automatically routing transactions through the optimal network – either FedNow or RTP – Dwolla’s platform eliminates the need for businesses to manage multiple integrations and navigate the complexities of a fragmented payments landscape.
While adding a new payment rail is a milestone, the true innovation lies in managing its complexity. CEO Dave Glaser revealed that the challenge went far beyond a simple connection when asked about the primary technical hurdle.
“The biggest challenge wasn’t just enabling real-time payments, it was ensuring consistency, reliability, and visibility across multiple networks, each with fundamentally different technical protocols, settlement windows, and operational nuances,” Glaser explained. “To solve this, Dwolla engineered a normalization layer that standardizes how businesses interact with these networks through our single API.”
This orchestration technology is designed to make the payment process seamless. It automatically checks a receiving account’s eligibility for instant payments and routes the transaction for the highest probability of success and efficiency. According to Glaser, this layer is packed with features to ensure reliability.
“This intelligent orchestration layer includes advanced retry logic, robust error handling, and built-in reconciliation tools, all abstracted away from the client experience,” Glaser said. “Real-time observability and monitoring provide transparency into transactions, regardless of rail.”
Glaser emphasized that this development is a core part of Dwolla’s broader strategy of offering businesses a complete financial operating system.
“By aligning this infrastructure with our holistic approach to payins, payouts, and digital wallets, we enable businesses to manage money movement in one cohesive system,” Glaser said. “Whether funds are moving instantly or via ACH, Dwolla clients benefit from a unified framework that automates complexity and delivers clarity, making reconciliation effortless and operations scalable.”
Industry leaders have praised the move. Reed Luhtanen, Executive Director and CEO of the U.S. Faster Payments Council, called the multi-rail orchestration “a significant step toward realizing the full potential of faster payments,” noting that it is the “kind of innovation and commitment to interoperability that moves the industry forward.”
Similarly, Mark Gould, chief payments executive for Federal Reserve Financial Services, remarked, “We’re excited to see how organizations like Dwolla are finding efficient and effective ways to leverage the FedNow Service… this type of private-sector adoption plays a vital role in advancing the nation’s payment infrastructure.”
With projections showing 80% of businesses plan to adopt instant payments by 2026, Dwolla’s unified solution positions its clients to meet growing consumer demands, improve cash flow, and boost operational efficiency through a single API.
