The partnership will initially facilitate real-time bill payment and deposit capabilities for users of the NOWSM Network from Fiserv or the good funds network from Early Warning.

The partnership between Fiserv and Early Warning brings together the leading provider of electronic bill payment and the leading provider of real-time deposit account verification and funds availability to enable broader consumer access to real-time services through their financial institutions. Combined, the Fiserv and Early Warning networks reach more than 6,000 banks and credit unions, including the 40 largest financial institutions in the U.S. and thousands of mid-size and community financial institutions, representing more than 75 percent of all deposit accounts in the U.S. The NOW Network from Fiserv also connects to tens of thousands of billers.

As demand for payment speed grows among consumers and small businesses, financial institutions are working to deliver new and enhanced real-time services. The partnership between Fiserv and Early Warning will enable financial institutions to meet the demand for speed by delivering robust real-time services with broad reach.

Initially the partners will focus on enabling real-time payment for bills issued by financial-institutions, such as those for mortgages and credit cards, and real-time deposits. The partnership will also enable Fiserv to integrate its 5,300 account processing clients into the Early Warning Deposit Chek® Service suite and its good funds network, facilitating instant posting of bill payments and immediate funds availability for deposits. The companies plan to pilot these services in early 2016 as they work together to commercialize these services for general availability later in the year.

“At Wells Fargo, we know our customers count on us to process their financial transactions – and make their deposited funds available – as quickly as possible,” said Ken Zimmerman, Executive Vice President and Head of the Deposit Products Group, Wells Fargo. “This initiative will make it much easier for financial institutions of all sizes to credit deposits more quickly and to enable an instant bill payment system that’s more efficient than those in today’s marketplace. These enhancements will not only improve the customer experience significantly, but will enable further investment in faster payment capabilities in the years to come.”

“In todays’ marketplace, people want real-time results, and expectations with banking transactions are no different,” said Kleber Santos, Executive Vice President of Consumer Banking, Capital One. “Connecting financial institutions and payment networks in real-time enables safe, immediate transaction decisions and a better customer experience.”

“Our partnership with Early Warning expands the selection of real-time services we can offer clients, enabling them to deliver the speed their customers desire,” said Rahul Gupta, President, Billing and Payment, Fiserv. “Interoperability is a key characteristic of the NOW Network from Fiserv, and by working with other strategic networks such as Early Warning we can make real-time payment options available to consumer and small business users through financial institutions of all sizes.”