Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), an international provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, has announced that one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s established banks, Community Bank of the Bay, is furthering its digital transformation strategy “with the implementation of real-time payments technology from Fiserv.”
As one of California’s first Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), Community Bank of the Bay is committed to offering “affordable financial solutions and supporting sustainable environmental practices.” The announcement also mentioned that the bank serves “an expanding commercial customer base of businesses in industries including manufacturing, construction, restaurants, professional services, and real estate.”
By implementing the Payments Exchange: RTP® solution from Fiserv, Community Bank of the Bay can now easily onboard new clients while offering existing customers “an expanded suite of payment options, including real-time payments.”
As noted in the update, Payments Exchange: RTP integrates “out-of-box with the bank’s existing core and builds on the success of their existing partnership with Fiserv.”
Chaula Pandya, SVP, CTO at Community Bank of the Bay, stated:
“As the region’s leading community bank, we take pride in providing our customers exceptional and innovative services. With real-time payments from Fiserv, our customers benefit from rapid, 24/7 access to funds, and are no longer restricted by traditional business hours or payment rails.”
The payments sector has seen considerable growth in instant payments, “reflecting changes in the way consumers and businesses move funds,” the announcement noted.
According to the Fiserv payments survey of financial institutions, 82% said there is “a shift in customer expectations for more contactless and real-time payment options.”
Importantly, real-time payments enable financial institutions to “support time sensitive and critical commercial use cases such as escrow payments, real estate and title transfers, and insurance claims,” the update explained.
With this initial deployment, retail and business customers of Community Bank of the Bay can now “receive payments in real time,” the announcement revealed.
Soon, businesses will have the “capability to make last-minute payments for goods purchased while corporate treasurers can reconcile funds and accounts in real time,” the update explained.
Dudley White, SVP and GM at Enterprise Payments Solutions at Fiserv, remarked:
“Payments Exchange: RTP and our suite of Fiserv payments solutions provide Community Bank of the Bay the flexibility to offer differentiated customer products and services aligned to market progression.”
Payments Exchange: RTP is a flexible, web‑based, multi-tenant solution for “completing end-to-end, real‑time payments 24/7/365 through the RTP® Network operated by The Clearing House (TCH),” the announcement explained.
With immediate funds availability and payment certainty for commercial and retail customers, financial institutions “benefit from the full power of real-time payments at an affordable price point.”
The update also mentioned that Fiserv helps clients “deliver solutions in step with the way people live and work today – financial services at the speed of life.”