As the momentum behind immediate payments skyrockets, many credit unions wonder what it takes to get in the game and connect to the RTP® network and/or the FedNow® Service.  

As the Senior Member Engagement & Education Specialist at Corporate One, I recently had the pleasure of hosting our enlightening webinar earlier this month titled “Implementing RTP from a Credit Union’s Perspective.” During the webinar, Sonja Delaney, Chief Strategy Officer at Directions Credit Union, and my colleague, Tracy Downs, discussed Corporate One’s RTP® network implementation process, lessons learned, and how they see immediate payments being used at Directions, which includes working with Corporate One to add the FedNow Service in early 2024.  

Sonja expressed initial concerns regarding her credit union's apprehension about the challenges associated with adding a new payment rail and connecting to the RTP network.  

“All of us credit unions were in the same boat when real-time payments started to come onto the scene,” Sonja said. “We have these older core systems, so how do we get them to the point where they can accommodate real-time processing? We started thinking about all the costs of getting our core systems to where they could handle real-time payments, but many real-time payment providers were large organizations that only dealt with the big players, and we were the little guy.”  

Fortunately, Corporate One helped Directions rise above those obstacles by collaborating with their core processor, Corelation KeyStone, while working with The Clearing House, the operator of the RTP network. 

“Corporate One stepped up to the plate and became the catalyst that helped us overcome those challenges,” Sonja said. “Corporate One started establishing APIs with our core provider and used their relationships with The Clearing House to pave the way for us and made the lift much easier.” 

Sonja emphasized that the deciding factor in selecting a third-party service provider (TPSP) was the convenience offered by a long-term relationship with Corporate One. 

“We’ve been with Corporate One forever and already had all our payment systems with you,” she said. “It made sense when we started looking for a TPSP that we keep all our payment systems together with Corporate One. It just made it more convenient and easier for us to manage.” 

Corporate One connected 18 credit unions to the RTP® network in 2023 through our TPSP solution and will add the FedNow Service connection in the first quarter of 2024, with nearly 20 credit unions in the queue to go live early this year. We already have established core connections with Corelation, CU*Answers, CU-centric, mpowered by CU-Interface, Fiserv DNA, and Jack Henry, enabling us to onboard as quickly as 45 days. 

“If I can give one piece of advice to credit unions: If you can do one project this year, I think that real-time payments, whether it’s through The Clearing House or the Fed, is so vital to the credit union industry,” Sonja said. “If at all possible, just do it!”