The Future of Banking: How Real-Time Payments is Shaping Modern Business

Introduction

The Real-Time Payments (RTP) Network from The Clearing House is the first new payments infrastructure in the U.S. in over 40 years. Launched in 2017, RTP allows financial institutions (FIs) the opportunity to deliver new services and products to their customers, and allows participants to send and receive funds instantaneously.

RTP paves the way for payments innovation, yet many businesses remain uninformed about the RTP network.

Payments are moving fast, and evolving consumer needs are reflecting this level of urgency. To better understand real-time payments, businesses need to examine RTP’s current state, roadblocks to adoption, and business use cases to develop a future payments roadmap.

Current State

The RTP network’s payment capabilities are currently available to FIs that hold 70% of U.S. demand deposit accounts (DDAs) while reaching 56% of U.S. DDAs. Nearly 100 banks are currently on the RTP network, with new FIs constantly added.

“Real-time” payments are not a new concept, but the growth of this network has undoubtedly created a new standard. According to Levvel’s 2021 Real-Time Payments Market Insight Report, 73% of survey respondents said their organizations were not currently using RTP. The table below gives a breakdown by company size reflecting familiarity with RTP.

Companies are looking to FIs and software vendors to discuss use case opportunities and the best approaches for seizing RTP opportunities; however, many organizations surveyed haven’t been contacted by their FI or AP partner concerning RTP.

Adoption Barriers

The most significant barrier to adoption is a lack of education. Many businesses are still largely uneducated about RTP or don’t know it exists at all. In a recent Levvel Research survey, nearly 50% of organizations said they felt uninformed about RTP.

With FIs as early adopters, many businesses are expecting their banks to drive this conversation. However, most organizations have not been contacted by their bank or credit union about RTP.

Additionally, many smaller businesses rely on third-party vendors for this education. With many AP, AR, ePayments, and ERP tools critical to business payments processes, these providers may need to look at RTP as a competitive differentiator in the market.

Business Use Cases and Engagement

Luckily, RTP adoption is expected to increase rather quickly. According to Levvel Research, 66% of U.S. companies say they are likely to adopt RTP in the next two years. If FIs prioritize education as a sales tool, businesses can make a more informed decision on their RTP journey.

Once educated on the benefits, organizations can examine how most RTP use cases are extremely significant to daily payments operations between both customers and vendors:

Instantaneous payment transactions to both customers and vendors take priority, but RTP can also streamline accounting, enhance cash flow management, and support internal cost-saving initiatives. RTP capabilities are being used in a multitude of ways across business processes, including:

• Loan funding
• B2B
• Payroll
• Insurance claims
• Cash concentration
• A2A

Once educated on the benefits of RTP to their business, most organizations are just waiting for it to become available. Having a concrete plan and knowing the ROI for this product could help businesses feel more confident in their move to RTP.

Conclusion

As RTP continues to gain interest, it’s important for organizations to stay informed on RTP’s current and future state and how these business use cases can impact their bottom line. FIs have the opportunity to use education as a lead-in to sales and gain more insight into client needs.