Real-Time Payments Pursues International Goals

Real-time payments (RTP) take center stage in this week’s Payment Rails Innovation roundup, with new efforts to drive RTP adoption in the U.S. But on a global scale, governments and FinTechs are working together to make cross-border instant payments a reality, through a variety of payment rail strategies.

The Clearing House Collaborates On RTP Adoption

The Clearing House (TCH), which operates the RTP Network, is enlisting the help of Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), Jack Henry & Associates as well as Fiserv to enable minority-owned depository institutions (MDI) to more easily loop into the instant payment infrastructure. According to TCH’s announcements, MDIs that use Fiserv, Jack Henry or FIS payment solutions will have the fees of on-boarding to RTP covered. “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,” TCH President and CEO James 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.”

Sherpa, Juniper Drive B2B RTP Adoption For FIs

Sherpa Technologies and Juniper Payments are partnering together to help financial institutions (FIs) loop into TCH’s RTP network with a focus on driving adoption of the payment tool for B2B transactions. In a statement, the companies said Corporate One Federal Credit Union will be the first to adopt the partners’ solution, a real-time B2B payments module for financial institutions in the correspondent banking network. With Sherpa as a certified RTP network third-party service provider, Sherpa can offer an open payment hub for FIs to take advantage of RTP functionality and modernize their payment offerings, the companies noted.

Singapore, Thailand Debut Real-Time Cross-Border Connection

In a world-first, Singapore and Thailand have interconnected their perspective real-time payment networks to facilitate instant cross-border transactions. In a recent announcement by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the governments said Singapore’s PayNow and Thailand’s PromptPay systems are now linked, allowing customers at participating banks of the networks to transfer funds between the two countries in real time. Their collaboration is initially focused on retail and consumer payments, however, with a transaction cap of S$1,000 (about $750). “The PayNow-PromptPay linkage is a pioneering effort,” said Ravi Menon, Managing Director of MAS. “It shows that existing payments infrastructure and the banking system have the potential to provide seamless cross-border payment options to retail customers.”

BillingPlatform, GoCardless Enhance ACH For Quote-To-Cash

BillingPlatform and GoCardless are teaming up to connect businesses with technology that enhances ACH transactions in their quote-to-cash cycles. In their announcement, the companies said GoCardless will lend its ACH debit capabilities to help businesses sending bills via the BillingPlatform portal to more seamlessly accept electronic payments, with support for recurring and usage-based invoicing — a tie-up the firms said will support cash flow for business end users.

DBS, J.P. Morgan, Temasek Strengthen Interbank Payments Through Blockchain

While local jurisdictions focus on improving their payment infrastructures, enabling interoperability between networks across borders — the way Thailand and Singapore have just done — is a rare feat. In a new tie-up, DBS, J.P. Morgan and Temasek are linking up to use blockchain to improve interbank transfers. The trio is developing an open industry platform to streamline payments and foreign exchange settlement and is creating a new entity, Partior, to drive adoption. Partior will also look to create wholesale payment rails to facilitate real-time commercial transaction settlements. The Monetary Authority of Singapore praised the effort, with its Chief FinTech Officer, Sopnendu Mohanty, calling it “a global watershed moment for digital currencies, marking a move from pilots and experimentations towards commercialization and live adoption.”