Bank / Credit Union

BoA, PNC first banks to send Zelle payments over RTP

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February 25, 2021

Bank of America and PNC Bank are the first banks to send Zelle payments over the RTP network, providing consumers and businesses a digital payment experience by leveraging the emerging global ISO 20022 message standard according to a press release.

By using this process to send Zelle payments, financial institutions can enable instant settlement and simpler back-office processing, greater efficiency and reduced costs, according to the release.

"Bank of America and PNC Bank are trailblazing a path to integrated real-time payments capabilities that will soon benefit individual account holders and corporate customers," Steve Ledford, senior vice president of product strategy and development, The Clearing House said in the release.

Moving to a real-time bill presentment and payment experience will allow businesses to increase customer satisfaction, decrease cost of collections and allow customers to benefit from full transparency and control of their digital payments, according to the release.

In the future, when leveraging the network's combined capabilities, businesses can send bills electronically, reducing the amount spent on paper and postage while enhancing the customer service experience. By utilizing Zelle to request a payment, corporate customers won't need to store and transmit a customer's bank account information, increasing the level of security during a transaction.

"This effort continues to advance the speed, security, and efficiency of payments for consumers," Mark Monaco, head of enterprise payments at Bank of America said in the release. "The powerful combination of Zelle along with the robust messaging and settlement capabilities of the RTP network will help consumers better manage their money and reduce the potential for late payments by giving them more control over the timing of payments and the immediate confirmation of receipt. We're pleased to partner in these important innovations to improve the payments system."