Treasury Prime Teams With Astra to Offer Instant Payments

Embedded banking software firm Treasury Prime and technology company Astra have teamed to offer customers instant payments capabilities.

The collaboration offers Treasury Prime customers access to instant account funding and instant disbursements through push-to-card technology, according to a Monday (Sept. 18) press release.

“Instant payments technology represents the future of financial transactions, offering instant access to funds with heightened efficiency, security and convenience,” Astra Co-founder and CEO Gil Akos said in the release. “Through this collaboration with Treasury Prime, we look forward to empowering businesses to embrace the power of instant transactions, driving growth, enhancing customer experiences and fostering financial inclusion.”

The companies said in the release the push-to-card feature streamlines payment processes for banks and enterprises. Treasury Prime’s customers can now offer end-users faster and more efficient funding options compared to traditional methods like ACH transfers.

PYMNTS looked at the rise of real-time payments earlier this month in an interview with Link Money CEO Eric Shoykhet.

Real-time payments allow for immediate transfer of money from a customer’s account to a merchant’s account. As Shoykhet said, these payments are a precursor to the emergence of account-to-account or pay-by-bank payment options in the United States market.

The progression is natural, he told PYMNTS, adding that “in order to settle account-to-account or in a pay-by-bank context, the merchant needs to know that the customer has sufficient funds” in their accounts. Traditionally, the U.S. has trailed places like Brazil, India and much of Europe in the embrace of real-time payments.

However, with the rise of the FedNow® Service, which debuted over the summer with The Clearing House’s RTP network, the availability of real-time payments is increasing.

Earlier this year, Treasury Prime formed a long-term partnership with payments provider Checkout.com, a collaboration that includes a product that lets end users fund their accounts with their debit card credentials.

The company also raised $40 million in a Series C funding round in February, with CEO Chris Dean telling PYMNTS’ Karen Webster that Treasury Prime planned to expand its network of banks and develop new products and services.