Global banks launch real-time payments in US

A group of the largest global banks have launched real-time payments
in the US, allowing consumers and businesses to send and receive money
instantly between bank accounts.

The Clearing House, which is owned by the global lenders, has worked
with Mastercard’s Vocalink, a payments infrastructure company, to
create a system that enables domestic payments in the US to be
concluded in seconds, rather than days.

The development is transformative for the US payments sector, which is
dominated by cheque and credit card usage, and represents the first
new payments system in the US for over 40 years.

The launch follows the advent of similar real-time payment systems in
the UK, Singapore and Thailand by Vocalink.

In the UK, Faster Payments was launched in 2008 to reduce payment
times between different banks’ customer accounts from the three
working days that transfers take using the long-established BACS
system, to typically a few hours.

The new US service operates 24/7, allowing money to be sent between
bank accounts instantly with immediate confirmation of its receipt.

Paul Stoddart, CEO of, Vocalink, said the US “is not only aligned with
other markets, but is a trailblazer in the payments sector”.

Unlike other real-time payment systems elsewhere in the world, the US
allows more information to be sent with payments, such as confirmation
messages.

The new service will also benefit businesses, which will be able
to receive instant payments and invoices, helping to reconcile
accounts.

Jim Aramanda, chief executive of The Clearing House, said the launch
“is a significant development for America’s banks, consumers and
businesses”.

“We will provide increased efficiency and solve problems for
businesses large and small as they track and reconcile payments. This
new capability provides an opportunity for banks and others to add
value for their customers.”