BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today the New England Automated Clearing House (NEACH) announced its participation in the Payments Innovation Alliance, a NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association® initiative, and its launch of the Faster Payments Playbook project. The playbook will provide tools for financial institutions and business end-users seeking greater clarity and understanding around faster payments as they look to develop their faster payments strategies.
The group, consisting of nearly 60 volunteers, represents a diverse set of participants, including financial institutions, technology providers, associations, networks, businesses, and other industry stakeholders. The group will develop playbooks that serve as living resources to help organizations understand the capabilities and attributes of all faster payments solutions, make decisions appropriate to their customer bases and business needs, and develop forward-looking strategies.
Representing NEACH in the Payments Innovation Alliance is Joe Casali, AAP, NCP, senior vice president and Sandy Ortins, AAP, APRP, NCP, vice president of Education.
“NEACH is pleased to participate in the Payments Innovation Alliance, and through our active participation, seek to be an advocate for positive change," said Casali. “We are strong supporters of payments innovation and look forward to contributing to the work being carried out by the Alliance.”
The project also includes various subgroups. As described by the Payments Innovation Alliance, the Financial Institution subgroup will create a playbook for banks and credit unions to help them better understand the faster payments options available and include decision-making guides to provide to various customer segments. The Corporate subgroup will focus on creating a playbook to help businesses, government, and nonprofit clients, regardless of size, better understand available faster payments options and how these options may meet their payment needs. It also includes a follow-up focus on how these options support remittance information with a payment.
The Faster Payments Playbook, in which NEACH staffers Joe Casali, AAP, NCP, senior vice president is co-leading the effort and Kathy Shea, AAP, APRP, NCP, director of Risk and Compliance, is serving as a contributor, is just one of several initiatives currently underway by the Payments Innovation Alliance.
Three additional projects, focused on developing tools to help the marketplace in related areas, also recently launched, all of which include NEACH representatives:
- ACH Quick Start Guide — NEACH Director Liz Grayeck-Birchell, AAP, APRP and Eileen Narbutus, AAP, director of Education are working with other Alliance members in this group to develop interactive online tools and resources to help small- and medium-sized businesses better understand and use ACH to make and receive payments for an array of use cases.
- ISO 20022 Toolkit — Led by NEACH Board Member Nasreen Quibria and NEACH member Orlando Santos, the group contributes to the development of educational tools and resources to help financial institutions and companies understand the capabilities, timelines, and functionality of various ISO 20022 enhancements. Janet Merlet, AAP, NCP, vice president of NEACH Membership Services also contributes to the group.
- Cybersecurity Response — Sandy Cinelli, AAP, APRP, CAMS, NCP, director of Risk and Compliance for NEACH is working to develop and promote tools and resources to help organizations understand evolving threats, which includes questions and topics to address before, during and after a cyber-attack.
Membership in the Payments Innovation Alliance is open to financial institutions, fintechs, processors, industry associations, corporates, governments, consultancies, and others. Work efforts are underway in all project areas with teams meeting virtually in the coming months. The next in-person membership meeting will take place October 10-12, 2018, in Washington, DC.
NEACH, through its participation in the Payments Innovation Alliance and other industry initiatives, seeks to represent its members' interests and amplify their voices on initiatives shaping the industry. If you have views or opinions you would like expressed to the Payments Innovation Alliance, contact Joe Casali by phone at 781-321-1011 or via email at jcasali@neach.org.
For more information and to learn how to join, visit allianceexchange.nacha.org.
About NEACH
NEACH is a non-profit trade association with 45
years of experience helping members originate and receive ACH
transactions. NEACH provides products, services, education, and
marketing to its member institutions and other New England entities to
increase the acceptance, use, and quality of electronic transactions. To
learn more, visit www.neach.org.