The Clearing House’s Real-Time Payments network is ready for cross-border payments from a technical perspective but is waiting for U.S. adoption of the network to grow to initiate the service.

TCH conducted a pilot in 2022 with Euro Banking Association Clearing, the instant payments network of the European Union, to settle transactions between the United States and EU-based entities, Jim Colassano, senior vice president of product development and strategy at TCH, told Bank Automation News.

Both instant payment channels use the ISO20022 messaging pattern, which makes it easier for them to communicate with each other, Colassano said. 

The proof of concept “allowed us to move transactions, clear and settle transactions, from the U.S. to the EU with finality within 30 seconds,” Colassano said. “We know that technically we can do it, but what we need to do is to create the business use cases and regulatory regime that would need to underpin the way it would operate.” 

TCH is focused on expanding its reach to all U.S. consumers; adoption stands at 70%, Colassano said. He declined to say what percentage the adoption rate needed to reach. 

The RTP network posted payment volume of $80 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to TCH’s Jan. 8 release. The network includes more than 840 FIs, he said. 

Wider adoption

The use of instant payments for cross-border payments is expected to increase as trade between countries increases, Adam Gable, senior product director at global fintech Temenos, told BAN. 

“The EU has already mandated countries within the region to enable instant payments availability,” Gable said. “Transactions are settled between the euros and some local currencies instantaneously.” 

Economies in different regions need to develop use cases and finalize regulations before rolling out instant cross-border payments for mass adoption, Gable said. 

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