Aliaswire Launches New Bank Account Validation Solution

NEWS RELEASE

Helps banks and their commercial clients comply with March 2022 requirement for ACH debits

BURLINGTON, MA, FEBRUARY 8, 2022Aliaswire, a provider of digital payment and credit solutions, today announced the addition of a new bank account validation (BAV) solution for banks and their commercial clients. The news comes in advance of the pending enforcement of a new web debit rule which requires ACH originators to make account validation an explicit part of their fraud detection efforts.

The regulation was first announced by Nacha in March 2021 with a one-year grace period for compliance. As of March 19, 2022, ACH originators must use account validation as a “commercially reasonable fraudulent transaction detection system” to screen web debits for fraud. This applies to the first use of an account number, or changes to the account number.

Aliaswire’s BAV solution is supported by Nacha’s Phixius Peer-to-Peer Network, which allows participants to instantaneously exchange and verify payment-related information. The network provides a single connection for verification and exchange of payment-related data with standardized APIs, streamlined services to foster interoperability and innovation, and secure payment information exchange and validation via blockchain/distributed leger technology tokens.

Aliaswire’s solution goes well beyond the basic validation of account status by also confirming payment history, particularly NSF or chargeback history. As new features are added to Phixius, Aliaswire’s solution will also confirm account ownership and matching ownership to the payment originator; and consistency of personally identifiable information (PII), including name, address, phone, number, and email.

The BAV solution is offered as a standalone service, and as a feature within Aliaswire’s DirectBiller billing and payments platform. DirectBiller equips banks to offer their commercial clients custom-branded billing and payment experiences to their customers. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform manages the end-to-end process from invoicing through payment reconciliation and integrates with banks’ treasury management systems and their clients’ ERP systems.

“We’re helping our bank partners and their commercial clients speed the flow of payments while also quickly and easily complying with Nacha’s new requirements,” said Jed Rice, CEO of Aliaswire. “Modern account validation should deliver multiple benefits such as increasing your transaction volumes and improving the user experience while also preventing fraud.”

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About Aliaswire, Inc.
Aliaswire is a fintech company based in Boston with a history of innovation in payments. The company supports leading financial institutions and merchant services providers with bill pay through DirectBiller® and small business credit solutions through PayVus®. For more information, visit https://www.aliaswire.com/.

Media Contact
for Aliaswire
Tim Walsh
timw@walshgroupmarketing.com
617.512.1641

2022 FinTech and Payment Predictions

BY JED RICE ON DECEMBER 14, 2021

As billing and payment become increasingly critical touchpoints between businesses and their commercial and consumer customers, many banks and billers will make taking the friction out of these processes a strategic priority in 2022. We see that playing out on multiple fronts.

Read the Article in Bank Business.

Citi® Present and Pay Now Live with Account Authentication and Real-Time Payments

FROM THE GREEN SHEET: NEWSWIRE ON NOVEMBER 14, 2021 NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec 13, 2021 — Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) has enhanced Citi ® Present and Pay, its market-leading electronic bill presentment and payment platform for institutional billers in the U.S. Key new capabilities include the addition of Citi ® Verify, a real-time account verification tool, and electronic bill (e-Bill) distribution capabilities through Request for Pay (RfP) messaging via the RTP© network, the real-time payment system from The Clearing House (TCH).
“Our clients are increasingly focused on improving the end-user experience of their own customers, with integrated, multi-channel solutions that offer more choice and convenience with flexible payment options and simplified user experiences,” said Michael Fossaceca, North America Region Head, Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions. “We are pleased to provide these new capabilities that can be implemented quickly and can immediately add value to their customers.”
Read more at The Green Sheet

Key Steps for a Successful Fintech Partnership

Bank and fintech partnerships are not new—you can read about one or two a week in the trade press.

But the reality of bank-fintech partnerships tends to fall short of what the headlines might lead you to believe. That’s too bad, because these ventures offer immense potential benefits to
both parties and their consumers, particularly in the area of payments.

Fintechs get a lot of attention, and rightly so—they are responsible for a lot of the digital innovations we enjoy in payments and finance today. But banks are the foundation of our financial
system; wherever there’s money moving around, banks are involved somewhere in the process. That means fintechs need banks in order to change the financial industry in meaningful ways.
And although banks provide the highest levels of stability and security, their natural (and in many ways desirable) aversion to risk makes it difficult for them to innovate. As customers look for more digital payment services, a lot of banks are having a hard time keeping up.

1.  DEFINE WHAT A HEALTHY PARTNERSHIP LOOKS LIKE FOR YOUR BANK
Banks looking to partner with a fintech should first determine their priorities. What are you trying to solve, achieve, or realize? Consider culture fit: How much do collaboration, productivity,
and positive relationships matter to your organization?

Once you’ve answered those questions, define your scope. Figure out the specific projects you want completed and set strict parameters for them. Also consider and account for future incremental improvements, so you can think beyond the product launch stage.

2.  SCOPE OUT YOUR NEEDS AND BE WARY OF THE SHINY OBJECTS
After you’ve defined the kind of partnership you’re looking for, it’s time to start interviewing candidates. Meet with a few potential partners and evaluate their culture, growth strategy, and
competitive situation—making sure to note potential areas of overlap or conflict with your bank.

For the partnership to work, it needs to be mutually beneficial, so be prepared to spell out what your organization will bring to the table. Remember that your company has a built-in customer base and consumer trust—qualities many fintechs lack and sorely need.

Many fintechs offer exciting functionality and features. But keep your priorities straight: Stick to your scope, and don’t be distracted by shiny objects you don’t need.

As you begin to narrow your list, think through details like speed to market and ease of implementation. Where possible, try to negotiate a pilot run in a test market of your choosing. Any
fintech that’s serious about a mutually beneficial relationship should agree to this crucial step.

3.  LOOK FOR TIGHT INTEGRATION WITH YOUR CORE AND THE ABILITY TO FLEX
To fully reap the benefits of partnering with a fintech, the company you choose has to be willing to work within your core systems including accounting and ERP.

This will be key if you’re going to create a seamless user experience. At the same time, you want a partner that provides the simplicity and flexibility of a cloud-based platform with available APIs and Iframes.

For example, any integrated receivables solution needs to be scalable and customizable for clients based on geography, size or industry. Vertical industries that can require unique and
complex payment options include insurance, utilities, healthcare, property management, education, and government/municipalities.

With the right fintech supporting you, meeting customer demands will be easier than ever—presenting new opportunities to grow existing relationships and to develop new ones.

 

 

Read more about EBPP: EBPP: Putting the Tech in Fintech 

How Banks Fill Tech Gap with Fintech

PAYMENTS ARE A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR BANKS—
PARTNERING WITH FINTECHS CAN HELP THEM GRAB IT

Let’s face it: Banks aren’t naturally set up to innovate.

To come up with the next great idea, companies have to be prepared to move fast and break things. Banks are intentionally designed in ways that prevent this kind of behavior. They are sturdy and layered in security and approvals, and for good reason—we need the backbone of our financial system to be stable and reliable.

Still, banks must respond to changing demands from their customers, from consumers to multinational businesses. Due to Covid-19, consumers and companies alike now expect to be able to conduct more banking tasks electronically, including bill pay.

Although EBPP is a well-established concept, the market remains surprisingly analog: Almost 40% of bills are still managed and paid offline. Meanwhile, banks’ share of EBPP has slipped precipitously in recent years, as competitors from startups to major companies have taken market share and businesses have opted to implement nimble, biller-direct solutions.

At the same time, customer needs and expectations have expanded. The set of services within what has previously been called EBPP has evolved into a multifaceted core component of integrated receivables. Today’s solutions remove the resource-intensive cash application process, speed up the payment cycle, and improve client cash flow for banks’ commercial clients.

This expansion of expected services works to banks’ advantage. It presents openings to capitalize on the close relationships they already have with their customers: Bank clients may already be fully integrated with the bank’s systems, and often look to banks to serve as trusted advisors who have the expertise and resources to help them navigate a variety of financial challenges and opportunities. Playing this role gives banks a unique advantage over a fintech startup with limited banking experience—both to earn this business and to deliver it effectively.

Banks should step up to this challenge by offering clients enhanced payment processing services that are fully integrated with pre-existing systems. If they don’t, they risk greater churn as customers conclude that they are outgrowing their bank’s payments abilities.

Building out modern billing and presentment solutions is a time- and resource- intensive task that most banks can’t afford to take on. Instead, banks should pursue partnerships with fintechs.
Partnering with the right fintech companies can help banks deliver innovative solutions, deepen existing commercial client relationships, and increase revenue from the growth in electronic payment processing.

Read more about EBPP: Leveraging a Fully Integrated End-to-End EBPP Solution

MPC21 Aliaswire – MEDIA ADVISORY

BURLINGTON, MA, AUGUST 12, 2021Aliaswire, a provider of digital payment and credit solutions for businesses and financial institutions, will have two featured speakers at the MPC21 Digital Commerce Virtual Event taking place Aug. 17-19, 2021. President Scott Goldthwaite will deliver the keynote address on Wednesday, August 18 and CTO Nirmal Kumar will be part of a panel discussion on smarter payment experiences for banks the same day. 

 

Aliaswire is recognized as a long-time innovator in the payments space. The company offers DirectBiller®, a bill pay platform marketed exclusively through leading banks, allowing them to offer enterprise clients a white-label billing and payment solution that’s fully integrated with treasury management. It also provides PayVus®, a credit solution that provides small business owners with tools to improve cash flow and credit to reinvest in their business, without building more debt. 

 

Aliaswire is sponsoring the event’s Banking track and will be part of two featured sessions: 

 

KEYNOTE: HOW BANKS CREATE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE THROUGH FINTECH PARTNERSHIPS

Wed. August 18, 8:10 am CT

Scott Goldthwaite, President, Aliaswire

 

With limited technology engineering in-house and adhering to restrictive protocols, banks lack the ability to deliver high demand, payments features and functionality. By partnering with collaborative fintech companies, banks can grow existing commercial client relationships, deliver innovative solutions, and increase revenue from the growth in electronic payment processing. Attendees will learn about the transformational digitization of treasury services in an evolving payments landscape, strategic considerations to overcome the existing void in corporate banking technology and innovation; and what defines a successful partnership for capturing increased market share.

 

PANEL: WHY BANKS MUST EMBRACE A SMARTER BILL PAYMENT EXPERIENCE

Wed. Aug. 18th, 8:50 am CT

Moderator:  Seth Block, Executive Vice President, Thermo Credit

Panelists: Thomas Aronica, CEO, Biller Genie

Lanny Byers, Chief Revenue & Strategy Officer, Vouchr

Nirmal Kumar, CTO & Head of Product, Aliaswire

 

As the payment ecosystem evolves and becomes more complex, consumers are no longer able to manage all their bills in one single, comprehensive way. Forward-thinking financial institutions are solving this challenge by utilizing speed, choice, and intelligence to provide their customers with a more efficient way to manage and pay their bills. Panelists will discuss how this approach is fortifying the customer/FI relationship.

 

More information on MPC21 Digital Commerce is available at https://mobilepaymentconference.com/.

 

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About Aliaswire, Inc.
Aliaswire is an innovative fintech company based in Boston with a strong track record in delivering patented payments solutions. The company supports leading financial institutions and merchant services providers with turnkey payment and credit offerings built on highly flexible architecture that facilitates simple, rapid deployment. Aliaswire solutions are cloud-based and always-on, providing real-time activity within its PCI-compliant environment. For more information, visit https://www.aliaswire.com/.

 

Media contact:
Tim Walsh

for Aliaswire

timw@walshgroupmarketing.com

617.512.1641