The operator of a U.S.-based payments clearing network that settles more than $2 trillion daily, reported in a press release that banks that hold 70 percent of the nation’s checking accounts now have access to real-time payments.
The Clearing House (TCH), a 167-year-old banking association and payments company owned by the largest commercial banks, announced instant payments now reach 56 percent of all U.S. account holders connected to its real-time payments platform (RTP).
Jack Henry & Associates, a payment processing services company based in Missouri; FIS, a Jacksonville, Florida, financial software company; Sherpa Technologies, a Boston-based credit union; ACI Worldwide, a Florida universal payments company; PayFi, a Fort Lauderdale company that enables money transfers between bank accounts in real time; COCC, a Connecticut FinTech serving the Northeast; and other third-party banking technology providers have connected their clients to the network, the release stated.
“Through these technology providers, the RTP network is ready and available today for banks and credit unions of all sizes looking to provide real-time payment capabilities to customers,” said Russ Waterhouse, executive vice president at TCH, in the release. “Once a financial institution is ready to connect to the RTP network, there is … a 70 percent chance that they have an already proven path through one of the many banking technology providers who have connected to the network partnered with TCH.”
TCH said its RTP network is the first new payments infrastructure built in the U.S. in more than four decades. It enables instant settlement and cash availability within seconds. The RTP network offers a flat price for all depository institutions regardless of size. It does not include volume discounts or have minimum volume requirements, and it does not charge an operator fee to receive payments.
Last month, Waterhouse told PYMNTS that by year’s end, RTP may see as many as 400 non-TCH member banks offering real-time payments and the results of a proof of concept for bill payments that, he said, could drive explosive growth.
“It’s going to become extremely compelling and competitively disconcerting for banks that don’t have access to RTP,” he said.