COLUMBUS, Ohio–Sherpa Technologies, a CUSO of Corporate One FCU, said it is partnering with Juniper Payments, the largest non-bank, cloud-based service provider of inter-bank transactions and reporting systems in the U.S., have formed a strategic partnership to provide a comprehensive portfolio of payment solutions through an integration between their respective payment hubs.
Among its first initiatives, the two organizations said they are working to extend real-time payment functionality available from The Clearing House’s (TCH) RTP network and create a real-time business-to business (B2B) payments module for correspondents to offer their financial institutions.
According to Corporate One, to enhance its payment offerings, Juniper leveraged Sherpa as a certified RTP network Third-Party Service Provider (TPSP) for network access.
‘Rich’ Functionality’
“As a result, real-time API integration between Sherpa and Juniper’s platform enables a rich suite of payment functionality, including real-time payments through the RTP network, ACH origination and receipt, and full wire transaction support,” the company said.
The integration also simplifies payment orchestration and settlement capabilities and supports the acceleration of payments modernization strategies, it added.
“With Sherpa providing network access and an open payment hub and coupling with Juniper’s enhanced digital experiences, financial institutions can realize the benefit of a dynamic and flexible payment platform to meet their current and future payments modernization requirements,” said Sherpa’s CEO and president, Keith Riddle. “Additionally, the ability to simplify access to an expansive suite of integrated payment options, including real-time payments, is a critical component of broader transformation strategies.”
The First Solution
Corporate One said the first near-term solution provided through the partnership involves the integration of the RTP network send/receive functionality and payment messages within Juniper’s platform, which will allow correspondent service providers and their respondents (financial institutions) to experience immediate payment capabilities for B2B use cases.
Corporate One said it has signed on to be the first correspondent to enable and offer the integrated B2B real-time payment functionality to its member credit unions, partnering with Juniper as an early adopter to test the solution as it comes to market.
“This partnership is an extension of a long-standing relationship between Juniper Payments and Corporate One, and I am proud it leverages the technology capabilities of Sherpa, which is one of our wholly owned CUSOs,” said Melissa Ashley, Corporate One’s CEO/president. “It’s exciting to have a real-time B2B payment solution on the horizon to offer our members. With convenient access through our existing payments platform for ACH and domestic wires, it will allow credit unions an easy entry way to try real-time payments at the account level without having to connect to the network.”
Expansion Coming
By later this year, Sherpa and Juniper said they expect the service will be enhanced to include the Request for Payment (RfP) functionality, an enhanced messaging framework for generating payment requests to an eligible recipient and leveraging the straight-through processing functionality of the RTP network for immediate payment posting and settlement.