What do real-time payments mean for lenders?

We live in a fast-paced world. Feeling hungry? Press a few buttons on a screen, and you’ll have food in less than an hour. Planning a vacation? You can research destinations, check the weather anywhere in the world, schedule a flight, and order an Uber to take you to the airport—all without leaving your couch.

In an age when everything seems to be just a click away, why are we still waiting for funds to clear for something we purchased a couple of days ago? In this blog post, I’d like to discuss how adopting a real-time payment system can help your financial institution keep up with the fast pace of modern consumers.

What is a real-time payment system?

I’d first like to define what a real-time payment system is. It means that the payment and settlement service will incorporate clearing functionality into the process of settling each payment so that the funds are available immediately. This allows financial institutions to exchange the information needed to make the debits and credits post to their consumers’ accounts and notify them of completed or failed payments.

 

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