Payment Rails Eye Value In Cooperation

Adoption of faster payments infrastructure is on the rise, particularly in the payroll sector.

With real-time payments becoming a reality for more business use-cases, industry stakeholders are increasingly exploring how to integrate faster payments into their existing payments workflows.

This week’s look at payment rail innovation explores how those stakeholders are pursuing a unified payments ecosystem in which emerging rails like RTP in the U.S. can coexist seamlessly with legacy infrastructure and other innovative networks.

Faster Payments Council Targets Interoperability

In its efforts to drive the U.S. toward faster and real-time payments ubiquity, the U.S. Faster Payments Council recently released a new white paper with a key focus on interoperability between various faster payment systems. The report explores three models to achieve cooperation, a key goal to ensure payment rails old and new can work harmoniously as infrastructure evolves.

In a statement, FPC Chair Steve Ledford said the paper aims to promote “a common understanding of payments interoperability” across industry stakeholders.

Rapyd Unifies Payment Networks For UK Firms

In a new initiative designed to streamline access to various payment rails and networks in the U.K., Rapyd has announced a full-stack payment solution that supports integration into payment networks via a single application programming interface (API). The result of a partnership with Visa, Mastercard, ClearBank and others, the solution connects businesses both in the U.K. and across borders to more than 900 payment methods via its Rapyd Global Payments Network, linking corporates to bank transfers, cash, cards and other infrastructure to move money.

The solution, the company said, “brings every disparate and fragmented local payment method in a specific country into a single, integrated connection.”

Fiserv Wields Card Rails For Capital

In an effort to connect small businesses and consumers with capital more quickly, Fiserv has unveiled a new solution for its financial service clients to be able to connect their own customers to funds via their existing credit card lines. Fiserv said its FlexLine Advance offers an alternative to small business and consumer loans, enabling cardholders to access capital without an additional credit application or origination fees. Funding can be deposited directly into customers’ bank accounts, with Fiserv also highlighting the ability of the new solution to allow users to pay for expenses that normally cannot be paid for via credit card. For small businesses, the company noted, that could mean payroll or supplier payments.

Paychex Implements RTP

In what it claims to be the first for the payroll industry, Paychex announced the addition of RTP capabilities for its corporates to connect employees to wages in real-time. Adoption of The Clearing House’s RTP network means corporates can accelerate their payroll, which, Paychex said, is key for businesses looking to support their employees through financial difficulties or emergencies.

“The ability to pay people as quickly as possible has taken on a new level of importance due to the unique circumstances many businesses are facing in the wake of COVID-19,” President and CEO Martin Mucci said in a statement.

Adoption of RTP also coincided with Paychex’s announcement that it has renewed its two-year Nacha Certified status, presented to third-party senders of ACH payments on the ACH Network.

DailyPay Urges Payroll Off Checks

In another initiative to wield payment rail innovation for the benefit of payroll, DailyPay announced recently its CYCLE feature, a tool that enables users of its PayEx solution to migrate off paper checks and embrace direct deposit. Designed for off-cycle payroll transactions, the tool lets employers distribute pay directly to bank accounts, payroll cards or other direct deposit accounts.

“Our expectation is that the PayEx platform can be used to reduce reliance on paper checks by up to 40 percent, saving a meaningful amount of time and cost for DailyPay partners,” Chief Innovation and Marketing Officer Jeanniey Mullen said.

DBS Bank Enables Real-Time Payments For Truckers

Targeting the freight and logistics sector, India’s DBS Bank has partnered with the Transport Corporation of India to connect truck drivers to funds in real-time using the National Payments Corporation of India’s infrastructure. Dubbed DBS RAPID, which stands for Real-Time APIs by DBS, the solution integrates into companies’ enterprise resource planning (ERP) portals and allows truck drivers to take out cash from ATMs or use their cards immediately upon receiving credit in their accounts.