Nearly a year of trial-by-fire, pandemic-era learning within the payments business has not only provided some great lessons but has also set the stage for some major advances in 2021 that have been in the cards for years.
According to Russ Waterhouse, executive vice president of Product Development and Strategy at The Clearing House (TCH), the surge in digitization brought on by the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the evolution of a range of RTP (Real-Time Payments) network advancements, including instant payroll, merchant settlements and tokenization.
“The promise [of real-time payments] was that it was always going to be faster, safer and smarter,” Waterhouse said in a chat with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster. “We delivered the faster part, but we haven’t completely tackled the safer, smarter part. I think this year will be about demonstrating and delivering on those two characteristics.”