PULSE and Obopay Collaborate to Provide Real-time Payment Solution
Agreement Enables Instant Payment Connectivity to Debit Card Accounts at Participating PULSE Financial Institutions
HOUSTON, Texas and REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 23, 2012 – PULSE, one of the nation’s leading debit/ATM networks, and Obopay, a leading provider of instant mobile payment solutions for market-leading brands, have agreed to enable real-time money transfer capabilities for PULSE financial institution participants.
As a result of the PULSE and Obopay agreement, issuers on the PULSE network can offer real-time person-to-person (P2P) and account-to-account transfer (A2A) services based on the Mobile Money for Banks and Credit Unions offering from Obopay. Participants’ account holders also can receive funds from other institutions to their debit card accounts instantly.
“Combining our extensive debit network with Obopay’s broad range of mobile money solutions gives consumers a faster and more efficient way to pay with their debit card, while also enabling new revenue generating opportunities for our participants,” said Judith McGuire, Executive Vice President of Product Management at PULSE. “A growing number of mobility-minded consumers require instant payments and transfers. The agreement with Obopay is one way we can help facilitate that for our financial institutions and their account holders.”
Mobile money solutions – including instant payment applications for P2P payments, A2A transfers, personal payment acceptance and more – are now available to PULSE network participants.
Ohio Valley Bank is the first PULSE participant to take advantage of the joint offering.
“Leveraging the connectivity and settlement process we have in place with PULSE enables us to offer this real-time service,” said Tony Staley, Project Manager, Product Development, of Ohio Valley Bank. “Many banks offer one- or two-day transfers and payments. We can now offer instant payments and expect to attract new customers by providing them with a differentiated service.”
The Obopay and PULSE collaboration provides a significant advantage over payments via Automated Clearing House (ACH), which often take several days to process. Additional advantages for both financial institutions and account holders include:
- Real-time authorization – eliminates non-sufficient fund (NSF) risks and ACH returns
- Interchange from funds transfers for financial institutions – turns an expense into a revenue source
- Superior user experience – enables users to enter debit card numbers rather than bank account and routing numbers
- Expedited deposit – customers receive money faster into their own accounts
To take advantage of the new offering, PULSE participants leverage the existing connectivity and settlement processes they already have in place with the network. This makes it easy for participating financial institutions to add new solutions without the need for core banking system integration.
“Enabling real-time access to funds directly from consumers’ accounts distinguishes us from other payment providers,” said Michael Diamond, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Obopay. “Ours is the only solution in the industry to offer instant transfer capability across financial institutions and payment networks. This enables us to help meet consumers’ real-world payment needs, which can range from getting funds to family members to getting paid for goods and services as quickly as possible. Together with PULSE, we provide quick and easy mobile payment solutions.”
About PULSE
PULSE, a Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) company, is a leading debit/ATM network, serving more than 6,300 financial institutions across the United States. This includes 4,300 issuers with which PULSE has direct relationships and more than 2,000 additional issuers through agreements PULSE has with other debit networks. PULSE links cardholders with ATMs and POS terminals at retail locations nationwide. Through its global ATM network, PULSE provides worldwide cash access for Diners Club and Discover cardholders through more than 800,000 ATM locations. The company also is a source of electronic payments research and is committed to providing its participants with education on emerging products, services and trends in the payments industry. For more information, visit www.pulsenetwork.com.