Instant Payments via Newline™ by Fifth Third: Built for High-Volume, Real-Time Processing

To deliver uninterrupted real-time payments performance over two of the biggest sports events, Newline™ and Instant Payments operate as a single coordinated team - aligning expertise and execution to deliver reliable results at scale. That teamwork and operational strength supports the performance clients rely on at Fifth Third.

The challenge: managing high-volume instant payments in real time

Football’s biggest game represents one of the highest volume instant payments events for our clients. Leading into the weekend, instant payments processed through Newline’s API were projected to hit record-breaking transaction volumes.

Just weeks later, college basketball’s largest tournament introduced a second, extended peak period, with volume surges occurring across multiple game days and time windows rather than a single concentrated spike. The tournament required the platforms to deliver the same level of reliability, but over a longer, more variable demand cycle.

The game plan was clear: Deliver uninterrupted, reliable real‑time payments performance during one of the most intense demand windows of the year, reinforcing the consistency and excellence our clients count on.

How we prepare for increased payment transactions

Delivering at scale takes more than technology; it takes preparation. Newline^TM is built and tested to handle real-time demand, so clients can rely on consistent performance when volume spikes.

Pre‑game preparation

• Platform capacity expanded and optimized through multiple system enhancements focused on stability and scale.
• Extensive production load testing validated performance under peak and sustained multi-day spike scenarios.
• Enterprise-wide technology controls minimized risk during the highest‑traffic windows.

In‑game monitoring & support

• Enhanced monitoring with dedicated on‑call coverage before, during and after highest-volume windows.
• Real-time visibility across transaction per second (TPS) throughput, queue depth, processing latency and settlement performance.
• Continuous end-to-end execution to ensure seamless, uninterrupted processing.

Instant payments performance results

Football’s biggest game highlights

• 180k originated transactions on a single tournament day — 6% of our total monthly volume compressed into 24 hours.
• 133% year‑over‑year growth, signaling major scale, adoption and client reliance on instant payments.
• Peak throughout: 80 TPS, sustaining heavy traffic without degradation.
• ~99% of all transactions completed in under 10 seconds, delivering a consistently fast and reliable real‑time experience.
• Zero processing issues, delays, reconciliation breaks, return anomalies or fraud events, highlighting a clean operational performance across all systems.

College basketball’s largest tournament highlights

• 1.8M processed across the full tournament window.
• Peak day volume reached 394K, demonstrating exceptional performance across  multiple high-traffic intervals.
• TPS peaked at 53 during the national championship game, with no degradation.
• 99.9% of transactions completed under 10 seconds.

The final score

Across both football’s biggest game spike conditions and college basketball’s largest tournament extended surges:

• Transactions flowed without interruption
• Settlement times remained stable
• Platforms demonstrated both peak-event strength and multi-day endurance

This combined performance underscores a simple truth: Instant Payments via Newline^TM scales reliably, regardless of how demand patterns shift.

Key takeaways for scaling instant payments

Post-event review

• Football’s biggest game provides a single, critical performance moment.
• College basketball’s largest tournament adds a series of sustained high-intensity events.
• Delivering flawless performance at this scale reinforces confidence in our platforms, teams and ability to support clients during their most critical moments.

Below are some key takeaways from the playbook:

• Built for scale. Stress testing and capacity planning ensure performance during peak windows and sustained surges.
• Real‑time visibility matters. Enhanced monitoring and rapid communication ensured confidence during both the largest spike and during distributed tournament bursts.
• Reliability builds trust. Consistent performance across multiple high-profile events builds long-term trust.
• Resilient infrastructure. Platforms scale seamlessly as clients grow and evolve.

Continue the Journey

Each high-demand event strengthens our readiness for the next. The performance delivered during sports’ biggest moments reflects a foundation and partnership-based mindset, built for growth, resilience and confidence at scale.

Explore how Newline^TM delivers real-time payments at scale, how instant payments can streamline your operations, and ways to implement these solutions.