Mastercard Debuts Real-Time Payments Pilot
The company plans to offer the service, called Payment on Delivery, in industries with complex distribution networks and supply chains.
Mastercard has announced that it is piloting a real-time payments program for businesses, and it plans to start in the wine and spirits distribution industry.
The card network announced that it is working with PNC Bank, The Clearing House and enterprise resource planning provider Rutherford & Associates on the project, which will allow businesses to pay suppliers in real time when they receive goods or services.
The company said it planned to offer the service, called Payment on Delivery, in industries with complex distribution networks and supply chains.
“Payment on Delivery is part of the Mastercard Track portfolio of business applications, which taps into real-time payment messaging capabilities so that the suppliers’ bank can push a ‘request-for-payment’ directly to the business, and the business can pay immediately — on delivery — with instant reconciliation on the backend,” the company said in an announcement.
Mastercard also said it plans to partner with other financial institutions and other enterprise resource planning providers to expand adoption of the real-time payments program.
“Consumers are used to the convenience of buying and paying for things with a simple swipe on their mobile devices. Businesses, on the other hand, follow a clunky and inefficient process when it comes to payments,” Mastercard EVP Ron Shultz said. “Our real-time payment capabilities not only connects buyers and sellers to enable payments to happen in real-time, but also provides them with real-time information to drive efficiency, control, security, and transparency on the backend.”
Mastercard is one of the latest entities announcing big investments in real-time payments.
The Clearing House, a payments company owned by 25 banks, runs private-sector ACH and wire operations, as well as the RTP Network, which it plans to make available to every financial institution in the United States by next year. The organization recently announced that it was adding four new seats for credit unions and community banks to its RTP Business Committee.
The Federal Reserve has also announced plans to develop a real-time payment and settlement service called FedNow.