RTP network speeds ahead with $10m transaction limit upgrade - Industry roundup: 6 December
by Ben Poole
RTP network gets a boost as individual transaction limit increased to $10m
The Clearing House, the operator of the US instant payments RTP network is to raise the individual transaction limit to $10m. The increased limit is designed to support growth on the network in areas including real estate, supply chain payments, and B2B transactions that require larger transaction amounts.
The new $10m individual transaction limit will be effective from Sunday, 9 February. The RTP transaction limit has been $1m since April 2022, when the limit was increased from $100,000.
The higher transaction limit on the RTP network provides the ability to send larger payments for many business reasons. In a press release, The Clearing House suggested the following use cases:
- Real estate/title insurance: Commercial and higher-value residential real estate payments can be sent instantly, 24/7, which allow for closings after business hours or on weekends.
- Merchant settlement: Larger merchants and retailers can receive daily instant payments, instead of more traditional merchant payouts that are received a day or more later.
- Supply chain: Manufacturers can pay suppliers instantly so products and supplies can be shipped sooner.
- Cash concentration: Businesses can move funds to a single account to optimise liquidity or consolidate funds at month or quarter end.
More than 285,000 businesses each month send instant payments over the RTP network through financial institutions on the system. In November, the network surpassed half a trillion dollars ($500bn) in instant payments since it launched seven years ago, and it now averages over 1 million payments per day. In October, the RTP network experienced a record 31.9 million transactions valued at $25.7bn.
“The $10m transaction limit allows financial institutions and their customers to make larger payments in real time, continually enabling the RTP network to evolve to meet industry needs,” said Margaret Weichert, Chief Product Officer, The Clearing House. “Customers already benefit from the system's around-the-clock availability, with 42% of transactions taking place overnight, on weekends, or holidays. This aligns with how businesses operate in today's 24/7 economy.”
Singapore announces support for corporates transitioning away from cheques
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have announced that two new payments solutions will be launched in mid-2025 to support the transition to e-payments for both corporate and retail cheque users. These solutions will complement Singapore's existing suite of e-payment modes, including PayNow, FAST, GIRO and MEPS+. To allow corporates sufficient time to adopt these new solutions, MAS and ABS have also announced a one-year extension of the deadline to cease processing of corporate cheques.
To provide greater convenience to corporates and individuals, ABS, in partnership with the the country’s domestic systemically important banks - Citibank, DBS Bank, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC Singapore, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB - will be launching the new EDP and EDP+ solutions in mid-2025 to address the use cases of post-dated payments and transactions requiring greater certainty of payment respectively. The main difference between EDP and EDP+ lies in when funds are deducted from the payer’s account. For EDP, funds are deducted upon presentment by the payee, while for EDP+, funds are deducted immediately upon issuance.
Both EDP and EDP+ will be accessible via digital banking platforms, and will leverage PayNow to allow payers to identify payees conveniently when making payments via either solution. MAS encourages all cheque users to adopt these e-payment alternatives once they are made available.
MAS and the banks will also extend the deadline to cease processing of corporate cheques by an additional year. MAS had previously announced that corporate cheques would be eliminated and that all banks in Singapore would stop issuing new corporate cheque books in 2025. MAS and the banks have assessed that more time should be given to corporates to familiarise themselves with new and existing e-payment modes, as well as for corporates to shift from cheques to EDP and EDP+. In view of this, while banks will stop issuing new cheque books to corporates by 31 December 2025, the deadline to cease processing of corporate cheques will be extended to 31 December 2026.
Corporate cheque payees should present their cheques for clearing well before 31 December 2026, MAS advises, to ensure that their cheques can be processed before the deadline.
Pemberton and Santander platform aims to boost supply chain resilience
Pemberton Asset Management and Santander Corporate & Investment Banking have announced a strategic partnership to launch Invensa, a company focused on providing large and mid-sized corporates with supply chain inventory solutions. The launch is subject to relevant regulatory approvals.
In the wake of growing supply chain disruptions in recent years, triggered by events such as the pandemic, geopolitical tensions and a changing macroeconomic environment, companies of all sizes are increasingly focused on ensuring greater resiliency in the supply of key goods and raw materials.
Invensa is designed to support the shift from ‘just-in-time’ to ‘just-in-case’ supply chain models and enable operationally efficient, flexible inventory financing and management at large scale.
“The combined offering strategically positions us to deliver innovative inventory management solutions that address the evolving needs of companies and their supply chains worldwide,” said Symon Drake-Brockman, Managing Partner at Pemberton.
Nuvei launches blockchain payment solution in Latin America
Canadian fintech Nuvei has announced the launch of a blockchain-based payment solution for merchants across Latin America. Through Nuvei’s partnerships with Rain, a vertically integrated issuing partner for global platforms, BitGo, a digital asset custodian and wallet solutions provider, and Visa, Nuvei is enabling businesses to use stablecoins – including USD Coin (USDC) – for faster global settlement and reduced reliance on traditional payments rails.
The blockchain payment solution will enable LatAm merchants to use their physical or virtual card supported by Visa to make payments using stablecoins from a digital asset wallet anywhere Visa is accepted. The solution benefits from Visa’s wide acceptance and simplifies corporate treasury management, offering faster cross-border transactions, secure digital asset custody, reduced currency complexity, and improved operational liquidity.
“By integrating stablecoin technology into our payment platform for B2B settlement we're ensuring our merchants continually receive unparalleled flexibility, security, and global reach,” commented Nuvei Chair and CEO Philip Fayer.
NatWest courts fintechs with growth programme
NatWest Group is set to launch its first Fintech Growth Programme, an opportunity for fintech startups to use the resources, expertise and networks of an established high-street bank to help them scale-up sustainably.
The programme supports NatWest’s ambition of leading the future of banking with the hope that some of the participants will help drive the bank’s innovation pipeline.
The bank plans to select five fintechs who provide solutions to specific problems in the payments space. The participating fintechs should be pre-Series A UK-based startups looking to develop their business ideas. Then, through ten weeks of workshops, mentoring and coaching, NatWest aims to work with these fintechs to co-create solutions to lead the future of banking.
To deliver the Fintech Growth Programme, NatWest is working with Aspire – a third-party consultancy that specialises in curating curriculums and delivering support that champions startup growth.
“This programme lays a pathway to create better outcomes for our customers,” said David Grunwald, Director of NatWest Innovation. “Working this closely with fintechs and UK entrepreneurs strengthens our ability to be future focused, while supporting the growth of the innovation economy."
Intuit and Adyen collaborate to help SMEs get paid faster
Intuit has announced a collaboration with Adyen to help small and mid-market businesses (SMBs) more easily manage electronic payments. The two companies will initially integrate Adyen's embedded payment services into Intuit’s business platform through QuickBooks Online (QBO) which enables approximately 2.9 million invoices to be sent monthly in the UK.
Late payments cost UK SMBs an average of £22,000 annually, contributing to 50,000 business closures each year due to cash flow issues, according to the Federation of Small Businesses and the UK Government.
With Adyen, Intuit Quickbooks customers will get a wider choice of payment options, and SMBs will receive their funds fast due to Adyen’s UK banking license and direct connection to the real-time payment rails Faster Payments Services (FPS). According to the Office of the Small Business Commissioner, if SMBs were paid on time, this could boost the economy by an estimated £2.5 billion annually.
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