Behind the launch of The Clearing House’s RTP® network: An interview with Timothy Mills

Abstract

In the 1960s, improvements in telecommunications and computers sparked the first age of electronic payments in the USA, leading to the development of the Automated Clearing House network. In the decades since, increasingly rapid communications and globalised commerce pushed the industry to develop real-time payments to support the modern economy. A critical moment in the pursuit for faster payments occurred in November 2017 when The Clearing House launched the RTP® network, the country’s first real-time payment system. This interview with Tim Mills, Vice President of Business Development and Product Management at The Clearing House, recounts the origins of the RTP® network, shares insights from its first year of operation, and discusses parallels between the development of electronic payments and the race to land a man on the moon.