Intuit INTU recently announced that it has joined the Federal Reserve’s instant payments network, FedNow Service, through the completion of its certification and readiness program. This integration will help it move money instantly across its money product portfolio. This will eliminate businesses' wait times and optimize cash flows through faster payments.
With the above development, Intuit will be able to provide seamless money movement across people, businesses and financial institutions that serve them. Whether a consumer is paying a bill or a business is paying an employee, the money movement will be instant and reliable. This immediacy is particularly valuable for small and mid-sized businesses, where cash flow timing is critical. Faster access to funds reduces reliance on short-term borrowing, helps avoid late fees and strengthens supplier relationships through timely payments.
Through the use of modern financial data standards, Intuit’s FedNow certification will aid real-time communication across the banking network. This integration aims to solve critical cash flow challenges through the reduction of the multi-day wait for Automated Clearing House funds to settle instantly, accelerating payments four times faster.
Intuit’s ability to integrate tax, credit, banking, invoicing and payroll data gives it a strategic advantage. This enables intelligent orchestration of payments using proprietary data, allowing the company to dynamically route transactions across payment rails, including FedNow, to optimize both speed and cost. Such capabilities could strengthen Intuit’s position in the evolving real-time payments landscape and drive deeper ecosystem engagement.
How Do Other Fintechs Move Money?
Block XYZ benefits from a strong two-sided ecosystem that connects merchants (via Square) and consumers (via Cash App). This creates a powerful network where money can already move quickly within its environment. However, it remains dependent on banking partners for access to FedNow. In contrast, it does have a strategic asset in Square Financial Services (its industrial bank).
PayPal PYPL operates with a somewhat different advantage: its large global network and strong closed-loop ecosystem. Payments within PayPal or Venmo are already instant, reducing their immediate reliance on external real-time rails like FedNow.
INTU’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Intuit have declined 26.5% over the past three months, underperforming both the broader industry and the S&P 500 Index.
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In terms of forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S), Intuit is currently trading at 5.73X, which is at a discount to the industry average of 6.39X.
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Intuit’s estimate revisions reflect a positive trend. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 EPS has been revised upward by a cent to $23.15 over the past month. The consensus estimate for 2026 calls for 14.9% growth year over year.
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Currently, Intuit carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).