diff --git a/test/functional/interface_zmq.py b/test/functional/interface_zmq.py
index e9f61be4d42..d0967a93400 100755
--- a/test/functional/interface_zmq.py
+++ b/test/functional/interface_zmq.py
@@ -27,28 +27,31 @@ def hash256_reversed(byte_str):
 
 class ZMQSubscriber:
     def __init__(self, socket, topic):
-        self.sequence = 0
+        self.sequence = None  # no sequence number received yet
         self.socket = socket
         self.topic = topic
 
         self.socket.setsockopt(zmq.SUBSCRIBE, self.topic)
 
-    def receive(self):
+    # Receive message from publisher and verify that topic and sequence match
+    def _receive_from_publisher_and_check(self):
         topic, body, seq = self.socket.recv_multipart()
         # Topic should match the subscriber topic.
         assert_equal(topic, self.topic)
         # Sequence should be incremental.
-        assert_equal(struct.unpack('<I', seq)[-1], self.sequence)
+        received_seq = struct.unpack('<I', seq)[-1]
+        if self.sequence is None:
+            self.sequence = received_seq
+        else:
+            assert_equal(received_seq, self.sequence)
         self.sequence += 1
         return body
 
+    def receive(self):
+        return self._receive_from_publisher_and_check()
+
     def receive_sequence(self):
-        topic, body, seq = self.socket.recv_multipart()
-        # Topic should match the subscriber topic.
-        assert_equal(topic, self.topic)
-        # Sequence should be incremental.
-        assert_equal(struct.unpack('<I', seq)[-1], self.sequence)
-        self.sequence += 1
+        body = self._receive_from_publisher_and_check()
         hash = body[:32].hex()
         label = chr(body[32])
         mempool_sequence = None if len(body) != 32+1+8 else struct.unpack("<Q", body[32+1:])[0]
@@ -64,6 +67,9 @@ class ZMQTest (BitcoinTestFramework):
         self.num_nodes = 2
         if self.is_wallet_compiled():
             self.requires_wallet = True
+        # This test isn't testing txn relay/timing, so set whitelist on the
+        # peers for instant txn relay. This speeds up the test run time 2-3x.
+        self.extra_args = [["-whitelist=noban@127.0.0.1"]] * self.num_nodes
 
     def skip_test_if_missing_module(self):
         self.skip_if_no_py3_zmq()
@@ -84,23 +90,46 @@ class ZMQTest (BitcoinTestFramework):
 
     # Restart node with the specified zmq notifications enabled, subscribe to
     # all of them and return the corresponding ZMQSubscriber objects.
-    def setup_zmq_test(self, services, recv_timeout=60, connect_nodes=False):
+    def setup_zmq_test(self, services, *, recv_timeout=60, sync_blocks=True):
         subscribers = []
         for topic, address in services:
             socket = self.ctx.socket(zmq.SUB)
-            socket.set(zmq.RCVTIMEO, recv_timeout*1000)
             subscribers.append(ZMQSubscriber(socket, topic.encode()))
 
-        self.restart_node(0, ["-zmqpub%s=%s" % (topic, address) for topic, address in services])
-
-        if connect_nodes:
-            self.connect_nodes(0, 1)
+        self.restart_node(0, ["-zmqpub%s=%s" % (topic, address) for topic, address in services] +
+                             self.extra_args[0])
 
         for i, sub in enumerate(subscribers):
             sub.socket.connect(services[i][1])
 
-        # Relax so that the subscribers are ready before publishing zmq messages
-        sleep(0.2)
+        # Ensure that all zmq publisher notification interfaces are ready by
+        # running the following "sync up" procedure:
+        #   1. Generate a block on the node
+        #   2. Try to receive a notification on all subscribers
+        #   3. If all subscribers get a message within the timeout (1 second),
+        #      we are done, otherwise repeat starting from step 1
+        for sub in subscribers:
+            sub.socket.set(zmq.RCVTIMEO, 1000)
+        while True:
+            self.nodes[0].generate(1)
+            recv_failed = False
+            for sub in subscribers:
+                try:
+                    sub.receive()
+                except zmq.error.Again:
+                    self.log.debug("Didn't receive sync-up notification, trying again.")
+                    recv_failed = True
+            if not recv_failed:
+                self.log.debug("ZMQ sync-up completed, all subscribers are ready.")
+                break
+
+        # set subscriber's desired timeout for the test
+        for sub in subscribers:
+            sub.socket.set(zmq.RCVTIMEO, recv_timeout*1000)
+
+        self.connect_nodes(0, 1)
+        if sync_blocks:
+            self.sync_blocks()
 
         return subscribers
 
@@ -110,9 +139,7 @@ class ZMQTest (BitcoinTestFramework):
         self.restart_node(0, ["-zmqpubrawtx=foo", "-zmqpubhashtx=bar"])
 
         address = 'tcp://127.0.0.1:28332'
-        subs = self.setup_zmq_test(
-            [(topic, address) for topic in ["hashblock", "hashtx", "rawblock", "rawtx"]],
-            connect_nodes=True)
+        subs = self.setup_zmq_test([(topic, address) for topic in ["hashblock", "hashtx", "rawblock", "rawtx"]])
 
         hashblock = subs[0]
         hashtx = subs[1]
@@ -189,6 +216,7 @@ class ZMQTest (BitcoinTestFramework):
         hashblock, hashtx = self.setup_zmq_test(
             [(topic, address) for topic in ["hashblock", "hashtx"]],
             recv_timeout=2)  # 2 second timeout to check end of notifications
+        self.disconnect_nodes(0, 1)
 
         # Generate 1 block in nodes[0] with 1 mempool tx and receive all notifications
         payment_txid = self.nodes[0].sendtoaddress(self.nodes[0].getnewaddress(), 1.0)
@@ -237,6 +265,7 @@ class ZMQTest (BitcoinTestFramework):
         """
         self.log.info("Testing 'sequence' publisher")
         [seq] = self.setup_zmq_test([("sequence", "tcp://127.0.0.1:28333")])
+        self.disconnect_nodes(0, 1)
 
         # Mempool sequence number starts at 1
         seq_num = 1
@@ -387,7 +416,7 @@ class ZMQTest (BitcoinTestFramework):
             return
 
         self.log.info("Testing 'mempool sync' usage of sequence notifier")
-        [seq] = self.setup_zmq_test([("sequence", "tcp://127.0.0.1:28333")], connect_nodes=True)
+        [seq] = self.setup_zmq_test([("sequence", "tcp://127.0.0.1:28333")])
 
         # In-memory counter, should always start at 1
         next_mempool_seq = self.nodes[0].getrawmempool(mempool_sequence=True)["mempool_sequence"]
@@ -487,10 +516,13 @@ class ZMQTest (BitcoinTestFramework):
 
     def test_multiple_interfaces(self):
         # Set up two subscribers with different addresses
+        # (note that after the reorg test, syncing would fail due to different
+        # chain lengths on node0 and node1; for this test we only need node0, so
+        # we can disable syncing blocks on the setup)
         subscribers = self.setup_zmq_test([
             ("hashblock", "tcp://127.0.0.1:28334"),
             ("hashblock", "tcp://127.0.0.1:28335"),
-        ])
+        ], sync_blocks=False)
 
         # Generate 1 block in nodes[0] and receive all notifications
         self.nodes[0].generatetoaddress(1, ADDRESS_BCRT1_UNSPENDABLE)