COLUMBUS, Ohio—Corporate One Federal Credit Union said it has received certification to receive payments via the RTP network developed by The Clearing House (TCH), becoming one of the first corporates and wholesale financial providers to receive such certification.
As a certified participant, Corporate One said it is now able to receive real-time payments for its corporate accounts.
To receive participant certification, Corporate One partnered with its CUSO, Sherpa Technologies, as the first credit union-specific, non-core third-party service provider (TPSP) to connect to the RTP network. Corporate One reported that a year ago, Sherpa established a relationship with ACI Worldwide and developed a suite of real-time payment services within the Mosaic framework, creating an extendable, open-payment platform for the credit union industry.
Creating ‘Opportunities’
“As a long-standing credit union payments partner, the goal of Corporate One’s faster payments strategic plan is to enable access and create opportunities for credit unions to take advantage of real-time payments,” said Corporate One President/CEO Melissa Ashley. “Receiving certification as a participant on the RTP network is an important part of our plan and enabled our CUSO Sherpa Technologies to be the first credit union-specific third-party service provider to host a credit union on the RTP network, which means Sherpa can now connect other credit unions to the network. This is a significant step for the credit union industry, which currently has very few accounts being reached by the RTP network.”
Sherpa Technologies announced it has become the first credit union-specific, non-core, third-party service provider (TPSP) and CUSO to provide a hosted gateway to the RTP network from The Clearing House (TCH) to a certified credit union. Sherpa’s initial RTP network service, developed as a part of its Mosaic platform, will include receive-only capability, allowing a CU’s member to receive a payroll or loan disbursement and other payment types in real-time.
Approved as Funding Agent
Corporate One said its certification comes seven months after the announcement that it was the first credit-union specific provider to receive funding agent status on the RTP network. As a funding agent, Corporate One said it is able to provide and manage the funding required for its member credit unions who themselves are participants in the RTP network.
“This is significant because it means Corporate One can manage liquidity 24/7/365 for its members that participate in the RTP network, which could be overly burdensome and more costly for credit unions to administer on their own,” Corporate One said.
Corporate One, which serves approximately 800 credit unions, added that becoming a funding agent was a critical step in its effort to build a 24/7/365 liquidity management solution for RTP transactions, which is coming soon.
First in 40 Years
The RTP network is the first new core payments infrastructure to be built in the U.S. in more than 40 years and gives the industry a modern platform for domestic payments, complete with rich data capabilities and immediate payment confirmation, the organization said. The system enables instantaneous settlement and availability. With receipt of real-time payments, participating depository institutions will experience improved straight-through processing, automated reconciliation, fraud and risk reduction, rich data reporting and analytics capabilities, partnership integration, and reduced operational costs.
The RTP network currently reaches approximately 52% of U.S. accounts for real-time payment receipt.