The announcement means PULSE participants and their cardholders have access to an additional real-time P2P solution.

Acculynk's Payzur allows consumers to send funds simply by authenticating the mobile- or web-initiated transaction with their debit card PIN via Acculynk's PaySecure online graphical PIN pad. Acculynk's real-time P2P solution is as simple and fast as using PIN debit at the point of sale.

PULSE already uses Acculynk's PaySecure technology to enable its Internet PIN Debit product to provide fast, easy PIN debit transactions online.

"Consumers generally prefer to use debit over cash for retail payments, and they are now looking for that same easy solution when it comes to paying friends, family and others," said Judith McGuire, Executive Vice President of Product Management at PULSE. "We want to give our participants greater access to the P2P market opportunity which, in the U.S., is estimated to be between $80 billion and $120 billion annually," she added.

With Payzur, consumers can use their smartphone, or other web-access device such as a tablet PC, along with their PIN, to send payments. Most cardholders will see transactions post to their account more quickly, and financial institutions will avoid the cost associated with ACH transactions. These transactions will settle with participating PULSE financial institutions through their existing network connectivity and settlement processes in place with PULSE, making them cost-effective, convenient and efficient.

"Recipients will have access to the funds almost immediately, making Payzur an attractive personal-commerce solution," said John Kerley, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Acculynk's Payzur division. "With earlier P2P solutions, payments sometimes took days, rather than the minutes or seconds of Payzur payments."