The Future of Payments

32 BANKING PERSPECTIVES QUARTER 4 2018 RTP at 1: BB&T they do business. RTP’s larger benefit can be found in the information that accompanies each payment. Through RTP, corporate treasury units can make disbursements or payments to clients and business partners around the clock, sending requests and receiving instant confirmations of the transactions. RTP also enables senders and receivers to interact by having more detailed, instant-messaging-type conversations about each payment. That’s because both counterparties to a transaction have access to an array of standardized message types, designed to handle common scenarios in the life cycle of a transaction. They facilitate communication when a transaction completes successfully and enable the counterparties to discuss exceptions. RTP will enable commercial clients to reconceptualize their businesses and how they engage their trading partners, customers, and employees. For example, they can have an interaction directly within the payment system, communications don’t require counterparties to switch to an email system to compose a free-form email or interrupt their workflow with a phone call or fax. RTP’s messaging and automation capabilities take ad hoc, unstructured follow-up out of the equation. Instant communications among corporate counterparties around requests for payment, approvals, or rejections, and payment confirmations produce value up and down the company’s customer and supplier networks. Both the speed and granularity of communications in RTP messaging can accelerate resolution of exceptions. Moreover, the detailed payment messages simplify account reconciliation and help companies develop an accurate snapshot of their current and upcoming cash positions. When treasuries trade the short-term advantages of float for the increased visibility of a real- time payment, they enable business to be conducted with far more certainty. In fact, as the settlement process comes close to real time, the payments themselves become a conversation. Suddenly, corporate treasury departments are provided with a rare chance to interact with customers, wholesalers, suppliers, vendors, service providers, and other trading partners, 24/7. YOUR PATH TO ADOPTION: CATCH UP TO THE WAY YOU DO BUSINESS We live in an “instant” world of immediacy and constant feedback through social media and text messages. Now imagine an “instant” world for payments, where you can have secure real-time conversations between parties and corporate treasury departments can lead dialogue around customer interaction. With RTP, your business can catch up to the “instant” way you live your life every day. All BB&T U.S. domiciled accounts are currently eligible to receive RTP through the network. BB&T clients can also send RTPs through our commercial online banking platform. Additional messaging enhancements will soon follow in 2019. RTP’s larger benefit can be found in the information that accompanies each payment. RTP will enable our clients to reconceptualize their businesses and how they engage trading partners, customers and employees. We understand the transition to using RTP won’t be simple, but when this new payment option reaches critical mass within the business community, it will result in major improvements to treasury services and payments systems alike. RTP should reach critical mass in 2020. At BB&T, we’re working with our clients to start on the path to adoption. Beginning with a comprehensive assessment of their payment strategies and processes, we then explore how RTP can fit within their plans. Considering joining the path to adoption? We’re here to help. The thoughtful design of this new platform includes many other features that result in improved business processes, allowing our clients’ payments to catch up with the way they do business.