RTP, Blockchain Gain Traction In Business Payments

The Clearing House’s (TCH) Real-Time Payments (RTP) network received multiple shows of support from B2B FinTechs this week as service providers embrace the U.S.’s newest payments network in decades.

But RTP isn’t the only novel network to gain traction in the small business in corporate realm.

In Australia, the nation’s new payment network, New Payments Platform (NPP), similarly caught the attention of the B2B space as cloud accounting and payroll service providers ponder use-cases beyond real-time consumer P2P payments — while blockchain also made progress in the corporate payments arena.

Below, PYMNTS explores the latest in how the B2B payments space is taking advantage of the newest payment rails and networks — rather than build new solutions on legacy ones.

Australia’s NPP Eyes Small Business Finserv

Australia’s NPP initiative, a new network that supports real-time payments, could be a positive disruptor for the small business accounting space, new reports in the Australian Financial Review noted.

According to the publication, small business cloud accounting platforms, including Xero and MYOB, are exploring how the NPP payment network could enable non-bank FinTechs like themselves to boost efficiency of financial processes for their SMB clients. The NPP aims to enable third-party non-bank players to initiate payment, with reports pointing to payroll as one of the financial functions that could see efficiency gains within small business FinTech platforms.

“This could be used to support certain use cases, such as a corporate making payroll payments to their employees via their payroll or accounting software provider,” the NPP’s governing body, New Payments Platform Australia (NPPA), said in its roadmap, according to reports.

“It will open up a whole bunch of use cases, including recurring payments, bill, subscriptions and online payments,” added NPPA CEO Adrian Lovney in an interview with the publication.

The opportunities highlight how the new payment network, which initially launched with a consumer-focused service dubbed Osko (which supports real-time P2P payments), could expand into B2B use-cases.

Finxact Enables Banks’ RTP Product Development

Core Banking-as-a-Service technology provider Finxact this week announced a partnership with TCH in an effort to expand access to RTP to more financial institutions.

With a focus on both consumer and corporate payments, RTP enables banks to send, clear and settle transactions in real-time. Via Finxact’s Core System of Record (SOR) and its API functionality, banks are able to more seamlessly link into the RTP network to develop their own products and services using RTP.

“We live in an always-on, on-demand world where customers are expecting real-time payments services from their banks,” said Finxact Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Deborah Kovacs in a statement. “Real-time payments offer a unique opportunity for banks to differentiate their retail and commercial products.”

Bottomline Integrates RTP

Commercial payments company Bottomline Technologies announced the integration of RTP within its Digital Banking IQ suite of services.

Support for RTP means B2B transactions within the Bottomline platform can be sent and received in real-time. Users can also access the network to request payment and obtain more robust transaction data for reconciliation and analytics.

“Customer engagement is central to creating real, sustainable value in financial services,” said Bottomline Managing Director of Banking Solutions Norm DeLuca in a statement at the time. “Real-Time Payments represents an important new means to that end.”

B2BinPay Integrates Blockchain

B2BinPay, a cryptocurrency payment service provider allowing companies to accept bitcoin, announced recently an integration with BNB blockchain, a blockchain solution operating on a proprietary blockchain, Binance Chain. The integration means B2BinPay allows clients to deposit and withdraw Binance Coin (BNB).

It’s the latest in a range of digital tokens supported by B2BinPay, which also include support for bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, B2BX and others, as B2BinPay augments its investment in blockchain for corporate payments. According to CryptoNews, the company aims to offer competitive processing fees and no hidden charges, while enabling its business users to offer cryptocurrency as a payment option for their customers.

SAP, Accenture and R3 Dive Into DLT

In another show of support for blockchain, enterprise software company SAP, consulting services firm Accenture and blockchain firm R3 announced a partnership to develop a real-time gross settlement system designed to connect banks with a mechanism to support blockchain-based payments in addition to government-issued payments in their existing RTGS systems.

The companies have developed a prototype that uses currency tokens to facilitate real-time settlement, with the firms noting that the technology can support integration of blockchain for central banks’ payment operations. In a statement, Accenture Managing Director and Global Blockchain Technology Lead John Velissarios said the solution helps “create an increasingly integrated and seamless financial services ecosystem.”

It’s a strategy that interestingly not only supports blockchain-based payments, but the harmony of blockchain within an ecosystem of other, traditional payment networks and systems.