Mastercard Teams With Jack Henry to Speed Money Transfers

Mastercard has begun offering its money transfer solutions through Jack Henry’s Rapid Transfers service.

The partnership, announced Monday (March 17) is designed to allow for “near-real time” money movement via Mastercard Move.

By “near-real time,” the companies mean that transaction approvals will depend on the payment and receiving financial networks in question, and that actual fund availability will depend on the receiving financial institution.

The partnership comes on the heels of Jack Henry’s digital payment partnership with Moov, focused on banks and credit union services to consumers and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

“Integrating Mastercard Move into Jack Henry Rapid Transfers is an important step in our efforts to modernize digital payments,” Jack Henry President and CEO Greg Adelson said in the announcement. “We are committed to empower banks and credit unions with innovative technologies that enable them to serve at the center of their relationships with account holders.”

According to the release, Jack Henry Rapid Transfers will have benefits that include the ability to move money between accounts at different financial institutions without delays. Jack Henry announced a similar partnership with Visa’s Visa Direct last month.

“The near-real time availability of funds will also lend itself to account opening capabilities, as well as offer a variety of payment options for Jack Henry’s commercial customers,” said Chiro Aikat, Mastercard’s U.S. co-president.

“Together, we’re creating a two-way street, allowing customers to both send and receive money — ultimately facilitating greater access to the digital economy.”

In other real-time payments news, PYMNTS spoke recently with Daniel Stanton, managing director and global head of Transactional FX at Bank of America. He said that as banks shift to real-time payment networks, bringing faster payments capabilities to corporate clients will be a long-term project.

“It’s a journey that we’re undertaking, and not only from the standpoint of a financial institution but in the FinTech arena as well,” he said in an interview published Monday. “It’s a joint journey toward building out our capabilities and enhancing or even redesigning our infrastructures … to get out of the thought process of ‘9 to 5’ and to operate on a 24/7 wavelength.”

For businesses working with Bank of America, said Stanton, the advantages of real-time payments lie in greater control over when their beneficiary is paid — and how they’re paid, which in turn means that the sender can have an easier time managing their working capital.