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Using Real-Time Payments to Provide Rapid Assistance
TIME TO READ: 4 MINUTES
How an innovative real-time payments solution drives impact when people need it most.
When a major hurricane struck the Southern United States in 2022, large coastal areas were wiped out – people lost their homes and possessions, and crucial access to their finances. In these situations, ATMs or post offices are often inaccessible or not functioning, but residents still need access to critical funds. Government agencies and non-profits were looking for creative ways for affected residents to receive money electronically.
Enter the Rapid Assistance Solution from Conduent, with real-time payments powered by BNY Mellon.
Finding a leading global instant payments provider
Conduent, the global technology-led process solutions company, had a vision for a new breed of payment solutions that could speed up the delivery of funds to individuals from government agencies and non-profit organizations – especially in cases of natural disasters and other crises.
Conduent needed a trusted and innovative provider to integrate the payment capabilities of digital payment options, such as ACH direct deposit, Zelle®,1 instant payments over the RTP® Network2 and the FedNow® Service,3 as well as chip-enabled, prepaid debit cards.
Highlights
Natural disasters and crises often cause residents to lose critical access to finances, ATMs or post offices.
BNY Mellon works together with Conduent to provide the Rapid Assistance Solution, which aims to help individuals and families gain swift access to resources during a natural disaster.
Government agencies and non-profits can leverage Conduent’s Rapid Assistance Solution to provide faster relief to those impacted by crises.
“We had the pieces, but needed to find a provider that had the infrastructure, product compatibility and financial integration capability to satisfy most recipients if there were to be a disaster,” said Rob Houser, Global Head of Strategy & Product Development at Conduent. “That's where we needed to ensure we had a provider who could help us facilitate a comprehensive disbursement model that would also help us help everyone who might potentially need access to funds.”
We had the pieces, but needed to find a provider that had the infrastructure, product compatibility and financial integration capability.
— Rob Houser, Global Head of Strategy & Product Development, Conduent
Empowering Conduent’s instant payments solution
After carefully searching for the right provider, Conduent recognized that BNY Mellon, a leading global provider of financial services and innovator in the instant payments space, would be the ideal collaborator to launch its new Digital Integrated Payments Hub.
“BNY Mellon was an easy choice. They were the pioneer for instant payments with The Clearing House and FedNow and are fully committed to pushing the industry towards payments innovation,” said Kathy Mertes, Conduent’s Global Head of Digital Payments. “We see more brands and types of instant payment products, BNY Mellon continues to work with us to make sure that in the event of a crisis, those who have an existing banking relationship can receive funds quickly and digitally. They saw the benefit and really doubled down on the solution – and inspired us to go the distance with them and create the Rapid Assistance Solution.”
BNY Mellon was an easy choice. They were the pioneer for instant payments with The Clearing House and FedNow and are fully committed to pushing the industry towards payments innovation.
— Kathy Mertes, Global Head of Digital Payments, Conduent
Conduent harnessed the expertise of BNY Mellon in the financial services landscape, resulting in a transformational leap in instant payments solutions.4 The company now offers a centralized platform that consolidates different payment processes and systems, reducing the cost of paper checks and creating an enhanced customer experience.
Conduent became the first business process outsourcing provider to offer such a platform,5 which also provides the ability to track transactions conveniently and transparently.
Founded
2017
Client Since
2017
Headquarters
Florham Park, New Jersey
Number of Employees
~59,000
Working together to provide relief funds through instant payments
Conduent’s new Digital Integrated Payments Hub, powered by BNY Mellon, has enabled faster and easier deployment of relief funds to individuals who need them most. Conduent’s Rapid Assistance Solution can now speed up disbursements to those impacted by a crisis in a matter of minutes rather than days or weeks. Rapid Assistance also improves the speed and security of assistance and ensures transparency and accountability for federal, state and local governments.
“We might be two separate companies, but with BNY Mellon, we operate as one – anyone on our team can pick up the phone and talk to anybody on the demand side,” Houser said. “And we treat each other like one team which is so important to make this work. There’s no red tape of any kind between two corporations where you’ve got to set up a meeting or set up a formalized session of talk – we truly work together.”
We might be two separate companies, but with BNY Mellon, we operate as one.
— Rob Houser, Global Head of Strategy & Product Development, Conduent
Government agencies, such as the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), can leverage Conduent’s Rapid Assistance Solution to provide swift aid to individuals and families who may be displaced as a result of a crisis.
“In 2022, 2.2 million people filed requests for assistance due to crises, and in 2023, [it was estimated] that number [was] blown out of the water,” said Houser.
By distributing critical relief funds quickly and securely, agencies can help individuals and families gain faster access to housing, food and emergency expenses when they are needed most. As victims of a crisis may be displaced, real-time payments make it easier and safer to connect them with that relief. Mertes reflects, “We’re seeing that individuals need assistance regardless of their socio-economic position. With solutions like Rapid Assistance, and the collaboration with BNY Mellon, we’re very excited to be able to deploy a solution that offers people in need the capability of getting funds instantly in times of emergency – just as any first responders would do.”
- Zelle® and the Zelle® related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.
- RTP® is a registered service mark of The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C.
- FedNow® is a registered trademark of the Federal Reserve Banks.
- Conduent Collaborates with BNY Mellon to Launch New Digital Hub that Expands Access to Faster, Easier and Secure Payments
- Conduent Introduces Rapid Assistance Solution to Help Agencies Expedite Disbursement of Emergency Relief Funds