Feedback from community banks, credit unions, and the payments community spur the release of the Business Principles for the RTP^® Network.

 

New York, March 28, 2019 – The Clearing House (TCH) has released a set of principles for its RTP^® network that describes how the country’s real-time network will be managed and also relate to pricing for the system. Business Principles for the RTP® Network outline how TCH will operate and maintain the newest core payments rail to be introduced in the U.S. in more than 40 years.

 

Representatives from community banks, credit unions, and corporate end users urged TCH to share as much information as possible about the governance rules that TCH will follow as the operator of the RTP network during a series of one-on-one meetings, as well as during special TCH-hosted RTP information sessions held across the U.S. during the past year.

 

“We are releasing the Business Principles for the RTP Network after listening to the industry and responding to their requests for more information about the network,” said Jim Aramanda, President and CEO of TCH. “The RTP network was built for financial institutions of all sizes throughout the U.S. financial system and our goal is to ensure that these depository institutions are provided with a clear understanding of the system, including its pricing and ongoing governance. In addition to the Business Principles, the RTP pricing schedule, operating and participation rules, message specifications, security requirements, and more, have been – and will continue to be – publicly available on TCH’s website.”

 

TCH’s Supervisory Board directed TCH to operate and maintain the RTP network in accordance with the Business Principles. The Business Principles for the RTP Network state that every federally insured U.S. depository institution is eligible to directly participate in the RTP network in accordance with publicly available, nondiscriminatory eligibility requirements; RTP fees shall continue to be flat for all participants regardless of size, and shall not include volume discounts or minimum volume requirements; and that the RTP rules, message specifications, use cases, and other educational resources are and shall remain publicly available, among other principles.

 

The complete set of Business Principles for the RTP^® Network can be found here on TCH’s website, www.theclearinghouse.org.

 

The release of the Business Principles coincides with the announcement today that TCH has expanded the RTP Business Committee, the group that governs the operation of the RTP network, by adding four total new seats for community banks and credit unions. You can find the announcement about the four new seats on the business committee here.

 

The RTP network was developed to meet the needs of depository institutions of all sizes by providing various options to connect to the system, including directly to the RTP network, or through a third-party service provider, such as a core processor, a hosted gateway, a bankers’ bank or a corporate credit union. The network’s technology is designed to support commercial innovation and is expected to lead to the development of a wave of products that will allow users to exchange non-payment messages, images and other value-added features.

 

A major advancement to U.S. payments technology, the RTP network was designed collaboratively by the TCH member banks and in complete alignment with the Federal Reserve-sponsored Faster Payments Task Force effectiveness criteria, representing the first core payments infrastructure built in the United States in over 40 years.

 

About The Clearing House

Since its founding in 1853, The Clearing House has delivered safe and reliable payments systems, facilitated bank-led payments innovation, and provided thought leadership on strategic payments issues. The Clearing House continues to leverage its unique capabilities to support bank-led innovation, including launching the RTP^® network, a real-time payment system that modernizes core payments capabilities for all federally-insured U.S. depository institutions. The Clearing House is the only private-sector ACH and wire operator in the United States, clearing and settling nearly $2 trillion in U.S. dollar payments each day, representing half of all commercial ACH and wire volume. As the country’s oldest banking trade association, The Clearing House also provides informed advocacy and thought leadership on critical payments-related issues facing financial institutions today. The Clearing House is owned by 24 financial institutions and supports hundreds of banks and credit unions through its core systems and related services. Learn more at www.theclearinghouse.org.

 

 

Contacts

Greg MacSweeney

The Clearing House

212-612-9282

gregory.macsweeney@theclearinghouse.org