Early Warning Services and The Clearing House Now Enable Zelle® Payments on the RTP® Network

Rhea-AI Summary

On February 25, 2021, Early Warning Services, LLC and The Clearing House announced that Zelle transactions can now be cleared and settled over the RTP network. This integration enables Bank of America and PNC Bank to deliver real-time payments, improving efficiency and reducing costs for both consumers and businesses. The partnership provides a fully digital payment experience, allowing businesses to enhance customer satisfaction and streamline operations. Consumers will benefit from greater control over payment timing and immediate payment confirmations.

Positive

• Integration of Zelle with RTP network enables real-time payment settlements.
• Bank of America and PNC Bank are first to adopt the integration, enhancing digital payment services.
• Improved efficiency and reduced costs for financial institutions and consumers.
• Streamlined bill payment process for businesses, increasing customer satisfaction.
• Enhanced security as businesses do not need to collect bank account information.

Negative

• None.

NEW YORK & SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Early Warning Services, LLC and The Clearing House (TCH) today announced Zelle® transactions can now be cleared and settled over the RTP® network.

"Demand for faster payments has never been higher, and today's integration milestone eliminates lengthy and costly legacy processes that have long been barriers to many real-time payment settlements between financial institutions," said Lou Anne Alexander, chief product officer, Early Warning Services. "Our combined foundation will provide all financial institutions an easy solution for new and emerging business use cases, including bill pay."

Bank of America and PNC Bank are the first to send Zelle payments over the RTP network, providing consumers and businesses a fully digital payment experience with improved efficiency by leveraging the emerging global ISO 20022 message standard. By sending Zelle payments over the RTP network, financial institutions can enable instant settlement and simpler back-office processing, improving efficiency and reducing costs.

"Bank of America and PNC Bank are trailblazing a path to integrated real-time payments capabilities that will soon benefit individual account holders and corporate customers," said Steve Ledford, senior vice president of product strategy and development, The Clearing House. "The integration of Zelle payments over the RTP network means that financial institutions will soon realize the benefits of future technology synergies between the Zelle and RTP networks."

Businesses to Have a Fully Digital Bill Payment Experience
Moving to a real-time bill presentment and payment experience will allow businesses to increase customer satisfaction and decrease cost of collections. In the future, when leveraging the two networks' combined capabilities, businesses can send bills electronically, reducing the amount spent on paper and postage while enhancing the customer service experience. By utilizing Zelle to request a payment, corporate customers will not need to store and transmit a customer's bank account information, increasing the level of safety and security during a transaction.

"This is a great example of technology advancing the way we – and our clients – do business. Combining the speed of Zelle and the RTP network will create new powerful opportunities for companies to seamlessly and efficiently interact with consumers and small businesses," said Chris Ward, executive vice president and head of product & operations, PNC Treasury Management. "Corporate customers will no longer need to collect bank account information. Instead,  they can focus on transacting through the U.S. banking system with a customer's email address or U.S. mobile number they use to enroll with Zelle."

Consumers to Have Greater Control Over Payment Timing
With these future advancements, consumers will benefit from full transparency and control of their digital payments, including immediate insight into account balances and real-time payment confirmations.

"This effort continues to advance the speed, security, and efficiency of payments for consumers," said Mark Monaco, head of enterprise payments at Bank of America.  "The powerful combination of Zelle along with the robust messaging and settlement capabilities of the RTP network will help consumers better manage their money and reduce the potential for late payments by giving them more control over the timing of payments and the immediate confirmation of receipt. We're pleased to partner in these important innovations to improve the payments system."

About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 66 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,300 retail financial centers, including approximately 2,700 lending centers, 2,600 financial centers with a Consumer Investment Financial Solutions Advisor and approximately 2,400 business centers; approximately 17,000 ATMs; and award-winning digital banking with approximately 39 million active users, including approximately 31 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About Early Warning Services, LLC
Early Warning Services, LLC, is a fintech company owned by seven of the country's largest banks. For almost three decades, our identity, authentication and payment solutions have been empowering financial institutions to make confident decisions, enable payments and mitigate fraud. Today, Early Warning is best known as the owner and operator of the Zelle Network^®, a financial services network focused on transforming payment experiences. The combination of Early Warning's risk and payment solutions enable the financial services industry to move money fast, safe and easy, so people can live their best financial lives. To learn more about Early Warning, visit www.earlywarning.com

About PNC Bank
PNC Bank, National Association, is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). PNC is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com 

About The Clearing House
The Clearing House operates U.S-based payments networks that clear and settle more than $2 trillion each day through wire, ACH, check image, and the RTP® network. It is the nation's most experienced payments company, with a long track record of providing secure and reliable systems, payments innovation, and strategic thought leadership to financial institutions. Most recently, The Clearing House has revolutionized U.S. payments infrastructure with the RTP network, which supports the immediate clearing and settlement of payments, along with the ability to exchange related payment information across the same secure channel. These RTP capabilities enable all financial institutions to offer safer, faster, and smarter digital transaction services for their corporate and retail customers. Learn more at www.theclearinghouse.org.

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SOURCE Early Warning Services, LLC

FAQ

What is the significance of Zelle payments now being settled over the RTP network?

The integration enhances the efficiency of real-time payments, reduces costs, and streamlines processes for financial institutions.

Which banks are the first to implement Zelle payments over the RTP network?

Bank of America and PNC Bank are the first banks to utilize Zelle payments over the RTP network.

How will consumers benefit from the integration of Zelle and the RTP network?

Consumers will gain greater control over payment timing and receive immediate confirmation of payments.

What advantages does the integration provide to businesses?

Businesses will have a fully digital bill payment experience, increasing customer satisfaction and decreasing costs related to paper bills.

When was the announcement made regarding Zelle and RTP integration?

The announcement was made on February 25, 2021.