As California’s first Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Community Bank of the Bay is committed to providing affordable financial solutions and supporting sustainable environmental practices. The bank serves an expanding commercial customer base of businesses in industries including manufacturing, construction, restaurants, professional services and real estate.

By implementing the award-winning Payments Exchange: RTP® solution from Fiserv, Community Bank of the Bay can now rapidly onboard new customers while providing existing customers an expanded suite of payment options, including real time payments. Payments Exchange: RTP integrates out-of-box with the bank’s existing core and builds on the success of their existing partnership with Fiserv.

“As the region’s leading community bank, we take pride in providing our customers exceptional and innovative services,” said Chaula Pandya, SVP, Chief Technology Officer at Community Bank of the Bay. “With real-time payments from Fiserv, our customers benefit from rapid, 24/7 access to funds, and are no longer restricted by traditional business hours or payment rails.”

The payments industry has seen significant growth in instant payments, reflecting changes in the way consumers and businesses move funds. According to the most recent annual Fiserv payments survey of financial institutions, 82% said there is a shift in customer expectations for more contactless and real-time payment options. Importantly, real-time payments enable financial institutions to support time sensitive and critical commercial use cases such as escrow payments, real estate and title transfers, and insurance claims.

With this initial deployment, retail and business customers of Community Bank of the Bay can now receive payments in real time. Soon, businesses will have the capability to make last-minute payments for goods purchased while corporate treasurers can reconcile funds and accounts in real time.

“Community banks are the backbone of regional money movement and are in the best position to support niche business needs,” said Dudley White, senior vice president and general manager of Enterprise Payments Solutions at Fiserv. “Payments Exchange: RTP and our suite of Fiserv payments solutions provide Community Bank of the Bay the flexibility to offer differentiated customer products and services aligned to market progression.”

Payments Exchange: RTP is a flexible, web based, multi-tenant solution for completing end-to-end, real time payments 24/7/365 through the RTP® Network operated by The Clearing House (TCH). With immediate funds availability and payment certainty for commercial and retail customers, financial institutions benefit from the full power of real-time payments at an affordable price point. The solution was recently awarded Highly Commended by the PayTech Awards.