TCH Teams With Fiserv, FIS, Jack Henry On Real-Time Payments For Minority Communities

FinTechs and financial services providers are teaming up to prioritize the advancement of real-time payments in communities served by minority-owned depository institutions (MDIs).

The Clearing House (TCH) is separately partnering with Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), with Jack Henry & Associates and with Fiserv to cover the cost of onboarding fees for MDIs seeking to join THC’s real-time payments network (RPT). 

The fees will be covered for MDIs using Fiserv’s core processing solutions, Jack Henry’s JHA PayCenter or the FIS Open Payment Framework (OPF).

“Minority-owned banks and credit unions play a crucial role serving their communities and local small businesses, and real-time payments can help solve many cash-flow concerns for customers,” THC president and CEO Jim Aramanda said in a Tuesday (May 4) press release. “Demand for faster payments has never been higher, and all Americans deserve to enjoy the benefits that come with real-time payments on the RTP network.”

MDIs usually offer financial services to people and small businesses that are historically underserved. To qualify as an MDI, the depositary institution must be federally insured and 51 percent of the voting stock must be owned by minorities. 

“Many communities served by MDIs need access to flexible, faster payments which can help prevent missed payments, avoid late fees and penalties, protect credit scores, and improve cash flow and financial health,” said Tede Forman, head of consumer and commercial payments for Jack Henry & Associates. 

Kelly Beatty, head of payment solutions at FIS, said collaborating with THC will bring innovative, “cost-effective real-time payment solutions” to minority-owned banks and their customers. The move aligns with the company’s goal of widening financial services everywhere, she said.

Frank Bisignano, president and CEO, Fiserv, said the company is dedicated to “extending equitable access” and helping households and businesses “send and receive money more quickly” wherever they bank.

Real-time request-for-payment solutions can help facilitate payments, Hisham Salama, executive vice president and chief digital officer at Bank of the West told PYMNTS in the February Payments Tracker.

Russ Waterhouse, executive vice president of product development and strategy at TCH, said in January that as the economy starts reopening following the pandemic, the payments industry has to innovate to expand real-time payments access to all.