The RTP network, the real-time payments system from The Clearing House, is the first new core payments infrastructure in the U.S. in more than 40 years, is currently accessible to financial institutions that hold close to 90% of U.S. demand deposit accounts (DDAs), and the network currently reaches 65% of U.S. DDAs. The RTP network is open to all federally insured U.S. depository institutions.

 

Real-time payments over the RTP network provide consumers and businesses with the ability to conveniently send payments directly from their accounts at federally insured depository institutions 24/7, and to receive and access funds sent to them over the RTP network immediately. Financial institutions that use the RTP network to make faster payments on behalf of their customers benefit from the RTP network’s real-time final interbank settlement. The RTP network represents a new phase of evolution within the U.S. payments industry and provides a platform for product innovation. Financial institutions can leverage a variety of features – enhanced speed, security, and messaging capabilities – to create unique offerings for their retail and corporate customers.

The characteristics of a real-time payment on the RTP network are:

1. 24/7 – The RTP network is live and operates 24/7, which allows financial institutions to send or receive payments at any time.

2. Immediate Availability – Recipients receive the payment within seconds of the sending bank initiating the transaction; RTP network receiving financial institutions are required to make funds available immediately, except where necessary for risk management or legal compliance purposes.

3. Payment Certainty – Sending financial institutions (FI) are not able to revoke or recall a payment once it has been authorized and submitted to the RTP network. However, there is a process to facilitate FI-to-FI communication around return of funds sent in error.

4. Ubiquity – All federally insured depository institutions can be RTP network participants, regardless of size.

5. Extensibility – Rich, flexible messaging functionality is included to support value-added products. For example, the RTP network provides messaging that enables a request for payment of a bill or invoice.

6. Convenience – Customers of RTP network financial institution participants are able to initiate payments from their existing accounts.

7. Cash Flow Control – The ability to send and receive immediate payments gives customers more control over cash flow, which may be particularly important for cash-constrained small businesses and consumers.

8. Adaptability – The RTP network has a flexible architecture to adapt to changing market needs.

The RTP network, the real-time payments system from The Clearing House, is the first new core payments infrastructure in the U.S. in more than 40 years, is currently accessible to financial institutions that hold close to 90% of U.S. demand deposit accounts (DDAs), and the network currently reaches 65% of U.S. DDAs. The RTP network is open to all federally insured U.S. depository institutions.

No. Any federally insured depository institution can be an RTP network participant.

No, the RTP network is designed to address unmet customer needs across all customer segments (B2B, B2C, C2B, P2P, A2A, G2C, etc. ). Consumers, businesses, and the government can use the RTP network.

No, the RTP network is strictly “credit push,” meaning that the person making the payment instructs its financial institution to make the payment. Credit push transactions reduce certain types of fraud risk.

The irrevocability of a payment sent over the RTP network enables immediate, final settlement to the payee, which is the key element of real-time payments. 

No, the RTP network is not same day ACH, and is a separate and new infrastructure built for the digital age. RTP network payments clear and settle individually in real time with immediate finality. Same day ACH payments are cleared in batches and finally settle after the payments clear.

The RTP network has a single price for all participants regardless of size, with no volume discounts, no volume commitments, no monthly fees, and no monthly minimums. Click here for RTP network pricing.

TCH is committed to maintaining a pricing structure that provides for equal pricing to all institutions regardless of volumes on the system. TCH will only consider a change to this approach if another provider’s different approach to pricing threatens the viability of the RTP network and requires TCH to react competitively to maintain the integrity and availability of the RTP network to all financial institutions.

TCH Is Committed to Flat Pricing for the RTP Network
Rob Nichols, CEO of the American Bankers Association, asks Jim Aramanda, CEO of The Clearing House, about how all banks benefit from the RTP network's flat pricing model.

Federally insured U.S. depository institutions have the option to directly connect to the RTP network. Depository institutions can also connect to the RTP network using an electronic connection provided by another entity, referred to as a third party service provider, such as a core processor, a hosted gateway, a bankers’ bank or a corporate credit union.

Yes. TCH developed the RTP network to incorporate the 36 criteria identified by the Faster Payments Task Force as necessary for a successful U.S. real-time payment system.

The RTP network's Participation and Operating Rules apply to all network messages and are available on The Clearing House website. Click here to visit the RTP network Document Library.

TCH established the RTP Business Committee to govern the RTP network. The RTP Business Committee meets monthly and has responsibilities including providing input and guidance on the strategic execution of the RTP network, ensuring prudent risk management practices are followed, promoting the design, operation, and management of the system, and establishing or amending the rules for the RTP network. 
 
The RTP Business Committee is comprised of representatives from TCH owner banks and representatives from non-member financial institutions. The participation of non-member financial institutions ensures that non-member financial institutions have an active voice in the governance of the RTP network.

Due to the important nature of The Clearing House’s role in the U.S. financial system, The Clearing House is highly regulated and is regularly examined by supervisory staff from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Under the Bank Service Company Act, The Clearing House, and all of the payments systems it operates including the RTP network, are subject to regulation and examination to the same extent as if the services being provided were being performed by a depository institution that is subject to FRB, OCC or FDIC supervision itself. See, e.g., 12 U.S.C. § 1867(c) (“[W]henever a depository institution that is regularly examined by an appropriate Federal Banking agency, or any subsidiary or affiliate of such a depository institution that is subject to examination by that agency, causes to be performed for itself, by contract or otherwise, any services authorized under this chapter, whether on or off its premises … such performance shall be subject to regulation and examination by such agency to the same extent as if such services were being performed by the depository institution itself on its own premises….”).

Through an arrangement among the federal financial regulatory agencies through the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, the FRB acts as the lead examiner of The Clearing House for examinations conducted under the Bank Service Company Act and its authority over The Clearing House, and its operation of the RTP Network, is extremely broad. (See, e.g., 12 U.S.C. § 1867(d) (“The Board and the appropriate Federal banking agencies are authorized to issue such regulations and orders as may be necessary to enable them to administer and to carry out the purposes of this chapter….”).

The Clearing House has also been designated by the Financial Stability Oversight Council as a systemically important financial market utility (SIFMU) under Title VIII of the Dodd-Frank Act and is subject to a heightened regulatory and supervisory regime as a result. While The Clearing House’s regulation and supervision under Title VIII relate specifically to its role as the operator of CHIPS, The Clearing House operates as a single entity in the operation of its payments systems and, therefore, many of the requirements of Title VIII may affect its broader operations.    

Yes, the credit transfer limit on the RTP network is currently $1 million.

To begin your financial institution’s journey onto the RTP network, please contact TCHinfo@theclearinghouse.org