Viewpoint: Acting NOW to Deliver Faster Payments

By Matt Wilcox, Fiserv

When it comes to faster payments, the U.S. has reached a tipping point. Mobile capabilities and other technological advances are changing the payment process and fueling consumer demand for real-time payments. In its January report, “Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System,” the Federal Reserve outlined next steps for enabling faster payments, highlighting the importance of collaboration among stakeholders.

Fiserv is moving boldly to make real-time payments a reality, while staying mindful of the need for collaboration. The NOW Network, which we introduced in 2014, embodies collaboration via connection. The network not only connects everyone that people want to pay—from other people to businesses—it also connects other networks to make payments move more quickly. Through connections with STAR and PULSE networks for our Popmoney P2P service, we’re enabling real-time P2P payments for financial institution members of those networks. We’ll continue to pursue connections with other strategic networks to help more businesses and consumers connect.

Payments On-Demand

Collaboration via connection will drive system changes to enable real-time payment capabilities. Just as ATM networks developed independently before ultimately connecting to better serve consumers, payments stakeholders will need to come together to improve the payment system and facilitate faster payments. The NOW Network eliminates redundant backend systems by combining electronic endpoints and routing capabilities. With our bill payment, P2P and transfer capabilities, along with the scale and necessary assets to build out the speed and intelligence to buttress a smart network, Fiserv is uniquely positioned to bring this new approach to payments to the marketplace. Our goal is to enable the financial services industry to provide meaningfully differentiated value to their customers.

Consumers want to manage and move money when they want. A 2014 McKinsey study commissioned by the Federal Reserve Banks found 70 percent of consumers prefer instant or one-hour payments—and are willing to pay for them. The NOW Network will provide real-time money movement capabilities for P2P payments, bill pay and account-to-account transfers. As the network evolves, consumers will be able to move and manage money at the time they choose—instantly, same-day, next-day or on a scheduled future date.

Fueled by 24/7 mobile capabilities, demand for faster payments only will accelerate.

Next-generation payments will be defined by speed, and consumers and other payment stakeholders also will demand the highest levels of security, convenience, scalability and efficiency. Fiserv intends to deliver a new payment experience through the NOW Network—an experience that enables mass adoption of real-time payments—while pursuing collaboration in the best interest of the industry and consumers.

When people, their money and those they pay are all connected, the payments experience becomes profoundly simple—consumers should only need to know who, how much and how fast they want the money to move. It’s time to work together to deliver payments as quickly as people want them.

Matt Wilcox is senior vice president, marketing strategy and innovation at Fiserv, where he guides the holistic marketing of Fiserv payment and channel solutions, with a focus on those that support digital, social and emerging payments. Matt can be reached at [email protected]. This article also appears in the Spring issue of Pay Magazine, on its way to subscribers now.

In Viewpoints, prepaid and emerging payment professionals share their perspectives on the industry. Paybefore endeavors to present many points of view to offer readers new insights and information. The opinions expressed in Viewpoints are not necessarily those of Paybefore.