In 2025, the B2B financing landscape is undergoing a radical transformation driven by two major real-time payment infrastructures: FedNow in the United States and the European Payment Initiative (EPI) in Europe. These revolutionary technologies now allow businesses to make and receive payments instantly, 24/7, profoundly transforming traditional cash cycles and opening new perspectives for business-to-business financing. In this rapidly evolving context, low-code platforms like Basikon play a decisive role by enabling financial institutions and businesses to quickly adapt to these new infrastructures without requiring heavy IT development.

As these instant payment systems become the norm, understanding their operation and impact on B2B financing becomes essential for any business wishing to remain competitive. This article explores how FedNow and EPI are transforming the financial landscape, why low-code solutions are crucial to leveraging these innovations, and what strategies companies can adopt to thrive in this new era of instant financing.

FedNow and EPI: Understanding the New Instant Payment Infrastructures

The Fundamentals of FedNow

FedNow represents a major advancement in the American payments ecosystem. Launched by the U.S. Federal Reserve, this instant payment service allows financial institutions of all sizes to offer immediate and secure fund transfers. Unlike traditional systems that require several days to finalize transactions, FedNow ensures payments are settled in just seconds.

According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, although FedNow has experienced significant growth, the system still has a long way to go to achieve widespread adoption. In 2024, the FedNow network counted 1,196 participants, while The Clearing House's RTP (Real-Time Payments) network had 676. These figures, while impressive, represent a fraction of American financial institutions, illustrating the considerable growth potential of these systems.

The main features of FedNow include:

24/7, 365 days a year availability, eliminating constraints related to traditional banking hours. This permanent availability particularly revolutionizes B2B transactions, allowing businesses to manage their cash flow more flexibly and efficiently. Additionally, FedNow guarantees immediate payment finality, meaning funds are available to the recipient within seconds after payment initiation. This feature is particularly valuable for businesses that depend on predictable and rapid cash flows.

Another major advancement is the rich data messaging that accompanies each transaction, facilitating automatic reconciliation and significantly reducing administrative costs. For B2B businesses, this functionality allows payments to be automatically associated with corresponding invoices, thereby eliminating a manual process that is often a source of errors.

The European Payment Initiative (EPI) and Its Objectives

Across the Atlantic, the European Payment Initiative (EPI) represents the continent's response to the challenges posed by the dominance of American payment systems and the fragmentation of the European market. As Thomas Müller of Rivero AG points out in an analysis for Convera, EPI aims to create a European alternative to dominant systems like VISA, Mastercard, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.

EPI has undergone a notable strategic evolution, moving from an initially very broad ambition to a more targeted approach focused on instant payments. This reorientation was concretized by the acquisition of two fintechs: the Dutch payment system iDEAL and the Luxembourg-based mobile payment application Payconiq. This strategy allows EPI to build on existing and proven solutions to accelerate its deployment.

The main objectives of EPI include creating a unified pan-European payment system, reducing dependence on American solutions, and offering a sovereign alternative for euro transactions. This system also aims to facilitate instant cross-border payments within Europe, eliminating current frictions and delays associated with transfers between different European countries.

For B2B businesses operating in Europe, EPI promises to significantly simplify international transactions, reducing costs and delays while improving cash flow predictability. This evolution is particularly significant for SMEs operating at the European level who have traditionally had to deal with fragmented payment systems.

Comparison of the Two Systems and Their Regulatory Implications

While FedNow and EPI share the common goal of modernizing payment infrastructures, they present significant differences, particularly in terms of regulatory approach. One of the most striking distinctions lies in the regulatory framework surrounding them.

In Europe, the new Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) imposes strict requirements on payment service providers. As reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, as of January 9, 2025, banks and payment service providers located in euro area member states must be set up to receive instant payments, while they have until October 9, 2025, to implement send capabilities. By 2027, all Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) countries must offer instant payments.

This binding regulatory approach contrasts with the more voluntary American approach. In the United States, the adoption of FedNow remains at the discretion of financial institutions, without legal obligation. This difference in approach could influence the speed of adoption of real-time payments in both regions, with potentially faster adoption in Europe thanks to regulatory impetus.

Technical requirements also present notable differences. The European IPR imposes strict constraints, including:

Verification of the payee to ensure the correct person or entity is being paid, thus reducing the risks of fraud and errors. Daily verification of instant payment users against the European Union sanctions list, enhancing compliance and security. The obligation to process payments within a maximum of 10 seconds after verification and confirmation of the payee, under penalty of transaction cancellation and possible penalties.

These rigorous technical requirements can represent a challenge for traditional banking systems, often requiring significant upgrades to existing infrastructures. This is precisely where low-code platforms like Basikon play a crucial role, allowing financial institutions to quickly adapt to these new requirements without completely overhauling their systems.

The Transformation of B2B Financing Through Instant Payments

Improving Cash Flow Management and Working Capital

The adoption of real-time payments fundamentally transforms cash flow management for B2B businesses. Traditionally, extended payment cycles created uncertainties and pressures on cash flow, often forcing companies to maintain large cash reserves or resort to costly financing solutions to bridge temporary gaps.

With the advent of systems like FedNow and EPI, businesses now benefit from unprecedented predictability and speed in their cash flows. This transformation manifests itself through several concrete advantages:

A significant reduction in working capital requirements, allowing companies to free up capital previously tied up in the payment cycle. Data from customer cases like Orion Leasing, which uses Basikon's low-code platform, demonstrate that companies can reduce their time-to-yes from 10 minutes to less than 20 seconds, considerably accelerating the financing cycle and thus improving cash flow management.

Real-time visibility into cash inflows and outflows also allows for more precise and agile financial planning. Financial directors can make decisions based on up-to-date data rather than uncertain projections. This increased precision in cash flow forecasting allows for optimized allocation of financial resources and reduces costs associated with unanticipated cash surpluses or deficits.

For SMEs, particularly vulnerable to cash flow issues, this evolution is transformative. Access to instant payments allows them to better manage their operating cycle and reduce their dependence on external financing, thus improving their financial resilience and ability to quickly seize growth opportunities.

Reducing Payment Terms and Impacts on Business Relationships

Real-time payments are redefining expectations regarding payment terms in B2B relationships. While traditional payment terms could extend to 30, 60, or even 90 days, systems like FedNow and EPI allow for instant settlements that transform the dynamics of business relationships.

This evolution has profound implications for commercial negotiations and payment conditions. Businesses can now offer incentives for immediate payments, replacing traditional early payment discounts with advantages linked to instant payments. For example, a supplier could offer a price reduction in exchange for immediate settlement via FedNow or EPI, creating a win-win situation: the customer benefits from a more advantageous price, while the supplier improves its cash position.

The reduction in payment terms also helps strengthen trust between business partners. Payment delays, a frequent source of tension in B2B relationships, become more easily identifiable and less justifiable in an instant payment environment. This increased transparency promotes healthier and more sustainable business relationships.

Furthermore, real-time payments significantly reduce administrative costs related to payment management. The processes of reminders, tracking delays, and manual reconciliation, traditionally time-consuming and costly, are largely automated thanks to the enriched data that accompanies instant transactions. This optimization allows financial teams to focus on higher value-added activities, such as strategic financial analysis or process improvement.

New Supply Chain Financing Opportunities

The emergence of instant payments paves the way for innovative supply chain financing models, radically transforming how businesses can manage their financial relationships with suppliers and customers.

One of the most promising developments is the evolution from traditional factoring to real-time factoring. As highlighted in Basikon's article on the subject, low-code platforms now enable instant invoice financing, reducing processing times by 90% and transforming a process that traditionally took several days into an operation of just minutes.

This evolution towards instant factoring allows suppliers to immediately access their liquidity without waiting for the customer's payment term. For buyers, this can translate into more advantageous conditions, as suppliers are less concerned about payment terms when they have access to instant financing solutions.

Real-time payments also facilitate the emergence of dynamic supplier financing programs. These programs allow buyers to offer early payment options to their suppliers at interest rates that vary based on several factors, such as the supplier's financial health, the business relationship, or market conditions. Thanks to infrastructures like FedNow and EPI, these early payments can be executed instantly, offering unprecedented flexibility.

Low-code platforms like Basikon Core Banking play a decisive role in this transformation by enabling rapid integration of instant payment capabilities into supply chain financing solutions. They facilitate the connection between companies' internal systems, financing platforms, and new payment infrastructures, thus creating a more fluid and responsive financial ecosystem.

The Crucial Role of Low-Code Platforms in Adopting These Technologies

Why Low-Code Is Essential for Adapting to New Payment Systems

Integrating real-time payment systems like FedNow and EPI represents a considerable technical challenge for many financial institutions and businesses. Traditional IT systems, often rigid and designed for slower payment cycles, may require profound modifications to adapt to the requirements of instant payments. This is precisely where low-code platforms reveal their strategic value.

Traditional development would require months, even years, to adapt existing systems to new payment infrastructures. In contrast, low-code platforms like Basikon allow for considerably accelerating this process thanks to several decisive advantages:

Increased agility allowing for rapid adaptation to regulatory and technical evolutions. For example, when the European IPR imposes new requirements such as processing payments within a maximum of 10 seconds, low-code platforms allow for adjusting processes without complete system overhauls.

Significant reduction in time-to-market for new payment features. Financial institutions can thus remain competitive by quickly offering innovative services based on instant payments. As demonstrated by the case of Orion Leasing, using the Basikon platform led to a 60% increase in their leasing portfolio and a tripling of their customer base thanks to the rapid deployment of new features.

Democratization of access to cutting-edge technologies. Low-code platforms allow business teams, without deep technical expertise, to actively participate in configuring and optimizing payment processes. This collaboration between business and IT teams accelerates innovation and ensures that the solutions developed precisely meet operational needs.

The reduction of development and maintenance costs is also a major advantage. By minimizing the need for complex custom coding, low-code platforms decrease initial development costs and simplify long-term maintenance, allowing organizations to focus their resources on innovation rather than maintaining existing systems.

How Low-Code Platforms Facilitate Payment API Integration

Integration with real-time payment systems like FedNow and EPI largely relies on application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow communication between different systems. Low-code platforms particularly excel in simplifying these API integrations, transforming a traditionally complex process into a more accessible and efficient operation.

The Basikon Core Lending platform perfectly illustrates this capability through several key features:

Preconfigured connectors for major payment infrastructures, significantly reducing the time needed to establish initial connections. These connectors encapsulate the technical complexities of the underlying APIs, allowing users to focus on business logic rather than technical implementation details.

A 100% API architecture that facilitates bidirectional integration with existing systems and new payment infrastructures. This API-first approach ensures maximum flexibility and allows for rapidly adapting processes to evolving payment standards.

Visual data mapping tools that simplify data transformation and normalization between different systems. These tools make it easy to align proprietary data formats with the standards required by FedNow or EPI, eliminating a major obstacle to integration.

Integrated testing and simulation capabilities that allow for validating integrations before deployment to production. This feature is particularly valuable in the payment context where errors can have significant financial consequences.

Thanks to these capabilities, financial institutions can quickly adapt their existing processes to take advantage of instant payments. For example, a credit approval process that previously took several days can be transformed to include real-time verifications and instant disbursements via FedNow or EPI, thus offering a considerably improved customer experience.

Use Case: The Transformation of Credit Approval Processes

One of the areas where the combined impact of low-code platforms and real-time payments is most visible concerns credit approval processes. Traditionally characterized by significant delays and manual procedures, these processes are experiencing a radical transformation thanks to these technologies.

The case of Orion Leasing perfectly illustrates this evolution. By implementing Basikon's low-code platform, this leasing company was able to reduce its credit decision time from 10 minutes to less than 20 seconds. This spectacular improvement was made possible by automating risk assessment processes and integrating more than 25 local APIs for real-time information verification.

This transformation of the credit approval process manifests itself through several key innovations:

Automated risk assessment in real-time, combining sophisticated algorithms and instant access to external data sources to evaluate client creditworthiness in seconds. This approach replaces traditional manual processes that could take several days.

Instant verification of information through integration with external databases via APIs, eliminating the need for manual document validation and significantly reducing fraud risks.

Immediate disbursement of funds after approval, thanks to integration with real-time payment systems like FedNow and EPI. This capability transforms the customer experience by reducing the delay between credit approval and fund availability from several days to just seconds.

Dynamic personalization of offers based on the risk profile and specific needs of the client, made possible by the flexibility of low-code platforms that allow for quickly adjusting product parameters without complex IT development.

These innovations are not limited to leasing and apply to various B2B financing products, such as factoring, leasing, or Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solutions for businesses. In all these areas, the combination of low-code platforms and instant payments allows for transforming processes that were once slow and manual into fluid and automated experiences that meet growing business expectations for speed and efficiency.

Strategies for Businesses and Financial Institutions in 2025

Preparing for the Adoption of Instant Payments

Faced with the rapid evolution of the real-time payment ecosystem, businesses and financial institutions must adopt a strategic approach to prepare their transition to these new technologies. This preparation involves several key dimensions:

Assessment of existing technological infrastructure constitutes the first critical step. Organizations must identify gaps and limitations in their current systems regarding the requirements of instant payments. This assessment should focus on the systems' ability to process transactions in real-time, integrate with new infrastructures via APIs, and manage the increased volume of data associated with instant payments.

Training teams on new technologies and processes is also essential. The adoption of instant payments requires not only technical adjustments but also an evolution of skills and work practices. Financial and operational teams must be trained to fully leverage the new capabilities offered by systems like FedNow and EPI.

Adopting a progressive approach can facilitate the transition by minimizing risks. Rather than proceeding with a complete migration in a single step, organizations can start with targeted pilot projects, such as integrating instant payments for a specific customer segment or a particular type of transaction. This approach allows for gaining experience and refining processes before wider deployment.

Choosing an adaptable technology platform as the foundation for this transformation is crucial. Low-code platforms like Basikon Core Banking offer the necessary flexibility to quickly adapt to evolutions in payment infrastructures without requiring heavy development. This adaptability is particularly valuable in an environment where standards and regulations are rapidly evolving.

By adopting these strategies, organizations can position themselves favorably to take advantage of the opportunities offered by instant payments while minimizing the risks and disruptions associated with this major transition.

Security and Compliance in the Real-Time Payments Ecosystem

The acceleration of payment cycles thanks to FedNow and EPI brings immense benefits but also raises significant challenges in terms of security and compliance. In an environment where transactions are processed in seconds, traditional fraud detection and prevention mechanisms may prove insufficient.

Regulatory requirements specific to instant payments add an additional layer of complexity. As highlighted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the European regulation on instant payments (IPR) imposes daily checks against sanctions lists and other strict security measures. These requirements necessitate systems capable of performing complex verifications in real-time without compromising the speed of transactions.

To address these challenges, organizations must implement several key measures:

Adoption of advanced fraud detection systems based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. These technologies can instantly analyze multiple risk factors and identify potentially fraudulent transactions in milliseconds, thus allowing for real-time interventions.

Implementation of strong authentication mechanisms adapted to the instant payment environment. These mechanisms must offer a high level of security while minimizing friction for legitimate users, a particularly delicate balance in the context of real-time transactions.

Establishment of continuous monitoring systems capable of detecting anomalies and suspicious behaviors in real-time. These systems must be able to analyze trends across large amounts of transactional data to identify unusual patterns that could indicate fraudulent activities.

Automated integration of regulatory updates into payment processes. Low-code platforms like Basikon offer a significant advantage in this area by allowing for rapidly adapting processes to regulatory evolutions without requiring heavy IT development.

By investing in these capabilities, organizations can not only comply with regulatory requirements but also establish a high level of trust with their customers and business partners, a crucial factor for the widespread adoption of real-time payments.

Future Vision: Towards Fully Digital and Instant B2B Financing

The emergence of real-time payment infrastructures like FedNow and EPI, combined with the growing adoption of low-code platforms, outlines the contours of a future where B2B financing will be entirely digital and instant. This transformative vision goes well beyond simply accelerating payments and encompasses a complete redesign of business models and commercial relationships.

In this future that is rapidly taking shape, several major trends are emerging:

The emergence of dynamic financing models that automatically adjust conditions based on multiple factors in real-time. For example, interest rates or credit limits could instantly vary based on the company's financial performance, market conditions, or even economic forecasts generated by artificial intelligence.

Seamless integration of financial services into existing business workflows, eliminating traditional frictions between operational and financial processes. This integration, facilitated by low-code platforms like Basikon Core Lending, will allow businesses to trigger complex financial operations directly from their business systems, without process disruption.

Democratization of access to advanced financial services for SMEs, who will benefit from the same capabilities as large companies thanks to the reduction of technological and financial barriers. This evolution could profoundly transform the competitive dynamics in many sectors by allowing agile small businesses to quickly access the financing necessary to seize growth opportunities.

The emergence of interconnected financial ecosystems where different actors (banks, fintechs, businesses) collaborate seamlessly thanks to standardized APIs and low-code platforms. These ecosystems will enable the creation of tailored financial solutions combining the strengths of different actors to precisely meet the specific needs of each business.

For financial institutions and businesses that wish to thrive in this rapidly evolving environment, adopting an approach centered on technological agility and continuous innovation will be essential. Organizations that fully embrace the possibilities offered by real-time payments and low-code platforms will be ideally positioned to define tomorrow's standards and capture a significant share of the value created by this major transformation.

Conclusion

The emergence of FedNow in the United States and the European Payment Initiative (EPI) marks a decisive turning point in the evolution of the global financial landscape. These real-time payment infrastructures do not simply represent an acceleration of existing transactions, but a fundamental transformation of how businesses manage their financial flows, business relationships, and growth strategies.

In this context of rapid change, low-code platforms like Basikon play a crucial role by allowing financial institutions and businesses to agilely adapt to new opportunities and requirements. Their ability to facilitate rapid integration with new payment infrastructures, automate complex processes, and adapt to regulatory evolutions makes them essential strategic tools for navigating this new financial ecosystem.

Organizations that will succeed in this transformed environment will be those that adopt a proactive approach, investing now in the technological and organizational capabilities necessary to fully leverage instant payments. This preparation involves not only technical adjustments but also strategic reflection on how these new technologies can redefine business models and create new sources of value.

As we move towards a future where B2B financing becomes entirely digital and instant, technological agility emerges as a decisive competitive advantage. Low-code platforms offer precisely this agility, allowing organizations to quickly adapt to market evolutions and transform challenges into opportunities.

Want to prepare your business for the era of instant payments? Discover how Basikon's low-code platform can help you easily integrate systems like FedNow and EPI into your B2B financing processes. Request a personalized demo and transform your approach to financing today.

FAQ

What are the main differences between FedNow and the European EPI?

FedNow and EPI share the goal of providing instant payments, but differ in several key aspects. FedNow is a service developed by the U.S. Federal Reserve, currently limited to domestic payments in the United States, with voluntary adoption by financial institutions. EPI, on the other hand, is a European initiative aimed at creating an alternative to dominant systems like VISA and Mastercard, with a pan-European scope. The most notable difference lies in the regulatory approach: in Europe, the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) imposes strict deadlines for the adoption of instant payments (January 2025 for receiving, October 2025 for sending), while in the United States, adoption remains voluntary.

How do low-code platforms facilitate the adoption of real-time payments?

Low-code platforms like Basikon accelerate the adoption of real-time payments in several ways. They enable rapid integration with API systems like FedNow and EPI without requiring complex development. They offer flexibility to quickly adapt processes to new regulatory requirements. They facilitate the automation of complex workflows, such as real-time compliance checks. Additionally, they allow business teams to actively participate in process configuration, thus accelerating innovation and ensuring that solutions precisely meet operational needs. This approach significantly reduces the time-to-market for new payment features and decreases development and maintenance costs.

What are the main benefits of instant payments for B2B financing?

Instant payments transform B2B financing by offering several major advantages: significant improvement in cash flow management thanks to the predictability and speed of financial flows; reduction in working capital requirements, thus freeing up capital for other investments; decreased payment terms, improving business relationships and reducing administrative costs related to managing delays; the emergence of new financing models such as real-time factoring or dynamic supplier financing; and a considerably improved customer experience with accelerated credit approval and fund disbursement processes, as demonstrated by the case of Orion Leasing, which reduced its credit decision time from 10 minutes to less than 20 seconds.

What security and compliance challenges do real-time payments pose?

Real-time payments raise several security and compliance challenges. The speed of transactions limits the time available for fraud detection, requiring real-time analysis systems based on artificial intelligence. Specific regulatory requirements, such as daily verification against sanctions lists imposed by the European IPR, add a layer of complexity. The need to balance security and user experience is particularly delicate in an instant payment environment. Additionally, the diversity of regulations between different jurisdictions complicates the implementation of cross-border solutions. To address these challenges, organizations must invest in advanced fraud detection technologies, strong authentication mechanisms, and systems capable of rapidly integrating regulatory evolutions.

How can businesses prepare for the adoption of instant payments in 2025?

To effectively prepare for the adoption of instant payments in 2025, businesses should follow several key steps. First, assess their existing technological infrastructure to identify gaps in meeting real-time payment requirements. Next, invest in low-code platforms like Basikon that offer the necessary flexibility to quickly adapt to new payment infrastructures. Training teams on new technologies and processes is also essential. Adopting a progressive approach with targeted pilot projects helps minimize risks and gain experience. Strengthening security and compliance capabilities to address the specific challenges of instant payments is crucial. Finally, rethinking business processes and business models to fully leverage the new possibilities offered by real-time payments will allow businesses to transform this technological evolution into a sustainable competitive advantage.