Open Payment Network connects financial institutions to the RTP network

By Edlyn Cardoza

Open Payment Network (OPN), a technology provider that enables instant payments, recently announced that it is providing Bridge Community Bank with connectivity to the RTP network, the real-time payments system from The Clearing House (TCH). With this connectivity, financial institutions like Bridge Community Bank can connect with OPN to send and receive customer funds to and from any other financial institution on the RTP network.

“We have been working closely with TCH and Bridge Community Bank to accomplish this milestone,” said Bradley Wilkes, CEO of Open Payment Network. “This successful connectivity to the RTP network means that more financial institutions can deliver instant payments to their customers.”

Using OPN’s API, financial institutions and their customers can add instant payments to their existing applications and create entirely new instant payment solutions. From payroll processing to mortgage payments to a myriad of other payment scenarios, financial institutions and customers can build on the OPN technology platform to send and receive payments on the RTP Network.

“Bridge Community Bank is committed to offer the benefits of instant payments to our customers and to offer these benefits early,” said Bob Steen, CEO of Bridge Community Bank. “We anticipate leveraging the OPN API to create more payment options that benefit our bank customers.”

Real-time payments are next-generation payments that can be initiated by a customer and then cleared and settled within seconds; all facilitated today by the RTP network and in the near term by the FedNow service. OPN adds value to its RTP connectivity with fraud controls and directory service. OPN and Bridge Community Bank are also participating in the FedNow pilot and will be testing FedNow real-time transactions within the next few months.

“We are happy to work with Open Payment Network in our efforts to bring the benefits of real-time payments to more financial institutions,” said Keith Gray, VP of sales and product development at The Clearing House. “With more companies like OPN providing connectivity to the RTP network, we will dramatically increase the availability to real-time payments to financial institution customers.”

The RTP network provides the banking industry with a modern platform for domestic payments, complete with rich data capabilities and immediate payment confirmation. The system enables instantaneous settlement and availability so funds can be used or withdrawn as cash within seconds. The RTP network currently reaches 61% of U.S. demand deposit accounts, and all federally insured depository institutions — regardless of size — can join the network. More than 250 financial institutions are using the RTP network, with more joining weekly. The RTP network offers a flat pricing structure for all depository institutions regardless of size and does not have monthly fees, volume discounts or minimum volume requirements.