ACH Innovators Eye Security And Standardization

As more corporates take the leap away from paper, ACH continues to be a popular choice to digitize B2B transactions.

This week’s exploration of Payment Rail Innovation finds financial service providers and FinTechs collaborating to improve the functionality of ACH, including the adoption of ISO 20022 standards and real-time verification for fraud control. Plus, another central bank dips its toes into blockchain and central bank digital currency (CBDC) technology.

Citi Drives Toward ISO 20022 Adoption

As a payments messaging standard designed to facilitate seamless movement of information along with funds, ISO 20022 is one feature that financial service providers are looking toward to improve upon existing payment rails. Citi is looking to accelerate its adoption of ISO 20022 through a collaboration with Volante Technologies, the firms revealed. Their partnership will allow Citi to build out its ISO 20022 capabilities in sending and receiving payments messages across rails and payment schemes.

Modern Treasury Secures Funding To Shift Firms Off Checks

With $38 million in Series B funding, Modern Treasury is looking to help corporates and their finance teams optimize payments through migrating away from checks and toward electronic payment rails like ACH. Modern Treasury, which secured the funding from Altimeter Capital, said nearly half of the $18.5 trillion in B2B payments transacted in the U.S. are paper checks. By digitizing the workflows of payments from initiation through to reconciliation, more organizations can address the legacy pain points of paper check payments. According to the company, real-time payments are also growing in popularity, accounting for more than 6 percent of B2B transaction volume occurring on its platform.

SWBC Drives Security Of ACH Transactions

Financial services firm SWBC is tapping into Mastercard’s Finicity to strengthen the security of ACH transactions, the companies said in a press release. SWBC will be adopting Finicity Pay to facilitate real-time ACH account verification, which adheres to Nacha’s 2021 ACH transaction requirements for enhanced fraud controls. Instant data verification means faster ACH bank payments, said SWBC, which noted that this level of speed and security is “essential” for today’s users of ACH.

ECS Fin Finds ‘Big Picture’ Amid Web Of Rails

For corporates managing a growing number of payment infrastructures and networks, ECS Fin said there is opportunity to look at the “big picture” by consolidating and streamlining back-office flows. The company, which was named by Nacha as a Preferred Partner for Corporate Remittance and Data Routing, spoke with PYMNTS about the opportunity for corporates to overcome failure points, strengthen the stream of data, and optimize payments through the use of technology that can intelligently route transactions through the appropriate payment rails.

France Trials Central Bank Digital Currency

France is the latest jurisdiction with a central bank to test digital currency in a new CBDC pilot. The nation’s central bank, Banque de France, is using a private blockchain to trial the tool in collaboration with SETL, Citi and other partners. Its most recent pilot reportedly involved the settlement of about $2.4 million worth of CDBC via blockchain.