“Faster Payments” is the widely used term that encapsulates the global banking industry’s movement towards near instantaneous money transfers between different banks' customer accounts. These initiatives may have different names in individual domestic or cross-border markets, such as “Same-day ACH”, or “Real-Time Payments”, but the principle of moving towards a new set of high-speed money transfer rails is the same.
 
The UK was at the forefront of worldwide Faster Payments initiatives through its Faster Payments Service (FPS), which reduced transfers from three days to just a few seconds, and Ascert was there supporting the new service every step of the way. Before the service even launched in 2008, Ascert developed the first self-certification simulator for FPS which was used by all the initial members of the interchange to conduct their pre-launch testing. Ascert also supplied the simulators used by VocaLink (now part of Mastercard) to performance test the Central Infrastructure switch, which is the hub of the service.
 
Since the initial launch of the UK service, Ascert has continued to support both self-certification for new and existing members, and more recently have also supplied the accreditation platform that must be used by Fintechs wishing to provide Faster Payments Gateway services. This accreditation service, based on VersaTest Automation server, runs on Ascert’s Cloud hosted “Ascertified” platform.
 
With this wealth of experience, Ascert is actively assisting other initiatives worldwide. For example, in North America, Ascert is a Founding Member of the recently launched U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC). The FPC is the culmination of a multi-year initiative that started with industry stakeholders coming together, with Federal Reserve support. The goal for FPC is a world-class payment system, where Americans can safely and securely pay anyone, anywhere, at any time and with near-immediate funds availability. The council provides a forum for dialogue and problem-solving. The FPC tackles issues that inhibit adoption of faster payments by offering tools and recommendations that support the broader good while respecting members’ competitive or internal business practices.
 
If you’re designing the next set of faster payments rails, Ascert’s testing and certification solutions can smooth the ride. Let us show you how.

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