To improve the safety and efficiency of the interbank settlement process, in 1918 the Federal Reserve developed and implemented Fedwire, the first real-time gross settlement system. The key feature of the Fedwire system was the ability to transfer account balances held at the central bank through telegraphic messages using a secure communications network.
Although Fedwire was intended to improve the large-value payment system, and quickly accomplished that goal, it was also used for some urgent large-value commercial and retail payments, and continues to be used that way today.