The United States’ first-of-its-kind, real-time payments system, available to all financial institutions nationwide, is nearing reality thanks to FIS™ (NYSE:FIS), a global leader in financial services technology, and The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C. (TCH).

The companies are preparing to launch a pilot with early-adopter financial institutions, initially focusing on the bill payment use case, using FIS technology and operating via the TCH real-time payments platform. Already under development, the pilot will go live in the first quarter of 2017, and bring payments that clear and settle in real-time to the pilot financial institutions. TCH, which owns and operates the system, has partnered with FIS, who will use the system to develop innovative new services and eventually connect its financial institution clients.

“This is a critical initiative, designed to transform the payments landscape in the U.S.,” said Anthony Jabbour, chief operating officer, Banking & Payments, FIS. “The Clearing House asked FIS to lead this pilot program and we’re honored to play such a pivotal role. Our position further highlights FIS’ leadership and capabilities in advancing a modern payments system.”

“FIS is a proven leader with extensive experience in developing and delivering innovative new payments services to its customers, so we are excited they have partnered with us to launch this pilot program,” said Russ Waterhouse, executive vice president, Product Development and Strategy at The Clearing House. “True, real-time payments that clear and settle within seconds are right around the corner. Not only is FIS helping us bring this system to market quickly, they are also going to play a key role in helping us achieve ubiquity in the U.S.”

FIS is an industry leader in global payments, with a unique ability to combine global and U.S. market-specific solutions for financial institutions of all sizes. It has successfully demonstrated real-time payment processing capabilities for financial institutions in other countries with its real-time payment rails. 

FIS and TCH are two of 19 organizations selected to the Federal Reserve’s Faster Payments Task Force Steering Committee, which is evaluating approaches for implementing real-time payments in the United States.