Blogs

Our opinions on hot topics in the payments industry.

Why Your Bank Needs a Dual Instant Payments Strategy

With over 1 billion transactions already processed through The Clearing House's RTP Network and more than 1,300 institutions participating in the FedNow Service, the question isn't whether to adopt instant payments—it's how to do it strategically.

The Implementation Playbook: How Smart FIs Are Winning the Instant Payments Race

The real-time payments opportunity is clear. The business case is proven. But here's what separates the winners from the wannabes: execution.

In Search of Answers: What Can My Bank Do with ISO 20022?

Starting in March of 2023, a new type of data began flowing through the Swift network — meaning that many financial institutions in the US also began processing this new data format.

Pay by Bank: The Future of Payments

In the fast-evolving world of digital payments, "pay by bank" is quickly gaining traction as a preferred option for consumers and businesses alike.

Your FedWire ISO 20022 Migration Questions Answered

At its core, the ISO 20022 standard provides a single scheme for financial messaging, securities, trade services, cards, and foreign exchange, as well as facilitating the movement of instant payments via the RTP Network or FedNow Service.

Digital Wallets are Evolving – What Does This Mean for Financial Institutions?

The rise of digital wallet technology demonstrates a significant shift in consumer payments behavior, with solutions such as Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay and PayPal dominating the market.

Instant Payments & the New World of Finance – What Does This Mean for FIs and SMBs?

This launch marked a significant turning point for payments in the United States, allowing many consumers and businesses across the country to send and receive funds from their accounts in real time, 24/7/365.

Buy, Build or Partner for Instant Payments

Although instant payments appeared on the US banking scene in 2017 with The Clearing House’s Real-Time Payment (RTP®) Network, the adoption of faster payments hasn’t been instantaneous.In the summer of 2023, the Federal Reserve launched its own instant payments network, FedNow Service.

An Insider’s Perspective on Pay-by-Bank

Over 268 million consumers completed online transactions in 2022 – over 80% of all Americans. Meanwhile, credit card processing fees in the U.S. are the highest in the world, and credit card fraud is also on the rise, making both merchants and consumers reevaluate how they transact online.

APIs & Instant Payments: Exploring What’s Possible

Application programming interfaces (APIs) have become a cornerstone of modern fintech solutions, allowing for the rapid development and implementation of new services and functionalities that could completely revolutionize the way financial services are delivered and consumed.

FedNow Onboarding: Testing 123

A lead actor would never skip rehearsal before the premiere, right? They would practice their lines and attend multiple dress rehearsals before the big day.

FedNow 101: Establishing Your Connection

The world of financial services is rapidly changing with the emergence of real-time payments, which have been made possible in the U.S. thanks to the launch of instant payment rails, such as the Federal Reserve’s FedNow® Service.

RTP® versus FedNow: Where should you start with faster payments?

Between faster payment rails like the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service, The Clearing House’s RTP, and even Same Day ACH, there are a growing number of payment options for today’s financial institutions.

Should a Fintech Partner Fuel your Faster Payments Strategy?

A fundamental shift is happening to the banking industry as solutions like FedNow and The Clearing House’s RTP network continue to grow in popularity.

Faster Payments: Flexibility, Strategy Matter as Much as Speed

Real-time payments are expected to see a 29.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2026 as consumers and Real-time payments are expected to see a as consumers and Real-time payments are expected to see a as consumers and businesses seek faster access to funds and immediate settlement times.

Preparing the Back Office for Instant Payments

As the 2023 launch of the Federal Reserve’s instant payment service approaches, banks and credit unions should carefully examine their readiness for faster payments. This includes adjustments to current treasury and back-office operations. Learn how your financial institution can prepare its back office for instant payments.

The Potential of Real-Time Payment Data

The value in real-time payments goes beyond the ability to move money in seconds. Financial institutions are quickly realizing the potential of the rich data that comes with 24/7 instant payments. Explore ways to make real-time transaction data work for your institution in this blog post.

Fact Check: The FedNow Service Versus Central Bank Digital Currencies

As advancements in tech change the way we transact, there are some compelling innovations being discussed, such as Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and not to mention the FedNow Service, the Federal Reserve’s new instant payment offering launching later this summer.

Business Members & Faster Payments: What Credit Unions Should Know

As credit unions continue to grow their business membership, they must consider the ways that faster payments can help their business members. After all, adoption of real-time payments is on the rise and it shows no sign of slowing down.

Debunking the Top 5 ISO 20022 Myths

Banks and credit unions need technology that allows their institution to take advantage of all the benefits ISO 20022 has to offer. But first, there are still some misconceptions about ISO 20022 to address.

The Benefits of Faster B2B Payments

Much of the discussion with faster payments centers around person-to-person payments and bill payments, the latter of which will help consumers avoid late fees when making payments right before deadline. Beyond the advantages of faster payments on the consumer side, there is huge potential for B2B real-time payments.

The Advantages & Disadvantages of the FedNow Service

Through financial institutions participating in the FedNow Service, businesses and individuals can now send and receive instant payments in real time, any time of the day, every day of the year. Like any newly launched technology, there are advantages and disadvantages with the new payment system which this blog will cover.

Where are you on your FedNow Service journey?

It’s important to remember that each financial institution’s path to the FedNow Service will be unique. However, there are some common key decisions and activities many organizations should pursue as they look to provide their customers with this new, instant payment service.

Fostering Financial Inclusion with Instant Payments

An economy where people are financially resilient and have access to economic mobility and advancement is a healthy economy. Instant payments play an important role in advancing this goal.

Instant Payments & Embedded Finance

Embedded payments present an opportunity for financial institutions to rethink their traditional product portfolios. However, before taking the plunge into these new waters of opportunity, it’s important to first have a foundational understanding of what embedded payments are and the benefits they offer.

FedNow Surpasses 600 Users. What’s Next?

The FedNow real-time payments service, which launched with 35 financial institutions in July 2023, had grown to more than 600 banks, credit unions and service providers using the platform by mid-March 2024, according to the most recent update from the Federal Reserve, which operates the platform through Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS).

Scaling Adoption & Monetizing Real-Time Payments

Within financial services, payments are one area that has undergone significant transformation in recent years with the emergence of faster payment services such as FedNow and The Clearing House’s Real-Time Payments network.Yet, the big question that remains to be seen is how financial institutions will scale and monetize these new payment options. This blog will reveal answers to this question.