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Editorial Viewpoint Quick Response, Thoughtful Support Spotlight On Peregrin Services Corporation Spotlight On HSBC Bank USA, N.A. COVER STORY Expanding Menu of Network Services Adds Exciting Options for Our... NEWS REPORT Bankruptcy Reform Legislation Spurs DMP File Changes... NEWS REPORT HSBC Dramatically Expands Electronic Volume in Retail Lockbox NEWS REPORT Advertorial Aims to Raise Biller Awareness about Electronic Payments NEWS REPORT New Program Takes Educational Approach to Selling the MasterCard RPPS... INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Q&A with Gwenn Bézard		Expanding Menu of Network Services Adds Exciting Options for Our Customers Same-Day Payments Head List of New Features Listening to customers, monitoring market trends, and evaluating our own performance, MasterCard RPPS continually works to deliver the tools you need to make your businesses more innovative, productive, and profitable. In the next 12 months, we plan to launch several significant new enhancements that will expand your options, speed your postings, and spread the MasterCard RPPS network to an ever-wider circle of customers. Same-day payments During July 2005, a Forrester Research study of 5,000 online households confirmed what our own investigations had found: same-day payments offer a real and immediate business opportunity for MasterCard RPPS customers. Forrester found that one-third of all online customers would use a fee-based same-day payment service one to three times per year. Furthermore, 89% of these customers would willingly pay up to $9.00 for the service.* "That's great news for our customers. Their input over the last seven months, including a user group meeting and voice-of-thecustomer feedback calls this fall, has helped us to create detailed business requirements for a same-day service," says Janet Smith, vice president, MasterCard RPPS Product Management and Account Support. "We expect that this exciting new service, which is planned to go live in the first half of 2006, will give our customers a very compelling new tool for building their online payments business," she adds. "Same-day payments represent a whole new world of service for MasterCard RPPS and our customers," says Smith. New processing cycle options To better align MasterCard RPPS payment cycles with billers' daily accounts-receivable updates, a new processing cycle will launch along with the same-day service. Scheduled for the midafternoon, the new cycle will provide the opportunity for MasterCard RPPS billers to receive payments more quickly and accelerate payment posting. "Now, our customers can choose to pick up payments either from all four cycles [multicycle] or after the last processing cycle completes [single cycle], at 2:00 a.m. Central Time," says Smith. For the first time, MasterCard RPPS will be able to allow billers and concentrators to choose the payment cycles from which they wish to receive payments. Account Payment Research tool Enhancements are also under way on the online Account Payment Research (APR) tool. These enhancements will enable concentrators and billers to view both previous and same-day payments at the biller level. In addition, for the first time, concentrators will be able to establish access to the tool at the biller-ID level, making it possible for individual billers to see their own payments. "This new feature makes it possible for a company—for example, a utility provider—to determine that a payment has been made that day," Smith notes. "So they can make an immediate adjustment to their payment collections process, and they won't have to take costly measures to shut off the customer's service. "What's more, they can do it themselves, whenever they wish, without having to call their bank," she adds. "It's easy selfservice, with no delays." Lastly, the APR tool will now allow for the download of payment data in commaseparated value (CSV), Microsoft® Excel, and flat file formats. Funds verification Initiated in response to inquiries from prospective customers looking for a faster way to come live on the MasterCard RPPS network, the funds verification service launched in November 2005. The service allows electronic payment originators to send payments to the network without having to secure a MasterCard sponsor bank. "For organizations that are joining MasterCard RPPS, the level of service and value offered by sponsoring banks is exceptional," says Smith. "For those organizations whose banks do not offer sponsorship, however, funds verification provides a fast and viable option for connection and allows the organization to continue banking where it chooses." With the new service, a customer must deposit funds to a MasterCard RPPS settlement bank account prior to sending a payment file. Before processing the payment file, MasterCard RPPS will ensure that sufficient funds are on deposit to cover the total of all credit payments included in the file. Should an originator's funds be insufficient, the file would be returned. Extending biller reach The ability to electronically reach those billers that are not connected to the network via a concentrator is highly valuable to the MasterCard RPPS payment originator base. Therefore, MasterCard RPPS is enhancing our systems to help originators connect with those billers. "We are creating a flexible offering to deliver remittance payment details and settlement of funds directly to those billers," Smith says. "New funds settlement options, the new payment-processing cycle, remittance cycle choice, as well as the APR tool enhancements help make this offering viable. This allows our customers on the originating side to electronically reach those billers who are not accessible through a concentrator." The rollout of the new service is planned for the first half of 2006. For more information To learn more about enhancements to the menu of MasterCard RPPS products and services, please contact Tom Carey at 914-249-5574 or thomas_carey@mastercard.com. * Forrester Research, Inc. July 22, 2005. Same-Day Payments: A New Revenue Stream from the Online Channel, by Catherine Graeber with Ron Shevlin and Peter Hult. Printer Friendly Version Back to Top