An initiative of the European Central Bank (ECB), TIPS provides instant payments processing and settlement across the 34 countries within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). The new scheme aims to process and settle payments within seconds for person-to-person, person-to-business, and business-to-business transactions - dramatically increasing the speed and efficiency of payments within Europe.

Natixis Payments, part of Groupe BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France, is a leader in the move toward faster payments. A longtime customer of FIS, the bank worked with FIS earlier in 2018 to provide instant payments within its intra-group network and to connect to the real-time payments clearing and payment system operated by leading European infrastructure provider STET.

Through this collaboration, Natixis Payments will be able to offer its customers the benefits of instant payments on day one of the ECB’s TIPS instant payments service.

“Natixis Payments is committed to being a pure player at a European scale. Real-time payments are a major stake, we have been investing for years in infrastructure to make that happen and FIS has been a key partner every step of the way. Working together, we are leading the way to the future of payments.” said Jean-Luc Thérond, head of Financial Institutions & Processing and Deputy CEO of Natixis Payments.

“We commend Natixis Payments for its visionary leadership in bringing the benefits of real-time payments to its customers,” said Raja Gopalakrishnan, executive vice president, Global Financial Services Payments, FIS. “We look forward to continuing to support Natixis as it further enhances its market-leading capabilities in this exciting and dynamic market area.”