RTP (real-time payments): real "turbo transfers" to US bank accounts

Turbo transfers to the US are currently not exactly “turbo” (> 24h). How about integrating with the RTP (real-time payments) network, for instant transfers?

Looks like US banks are finally entering the 21st century, and real-time payments are becoming a thing. I received this email from my bank a couple months ago:

Dear Julien,

We’re writing to let you know that we will soon be connecting to the Real-Time Payments(RTP®) System, which will allow you to receive real-time payments into your HSBC Bank USA, N.A. checking and/or savings accounts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

What is the change?

  • HSBC will now accept payments initiated from another bank through the RTP system. The RTP system is a system that moves funds denominated in USD, from one account to another account in real-time. Both sending and receiving accounts must be located within the United States.
  • The RTP payments will be credited within seconds, and these transactions will be reflected on your statement.
  • HSBC does not offer the capability to send an RTP payment at this time.
  • If a payment is initiated from another bank through the RTP system, you will now receive that payment in your checking and/or savings account immediately.

https://www.theclearinghouse.org/payment-systems/rtp

1 Like

Nice to know when I move over my HSBC to USA one in the future that they’ll have my back on instant transfers :joy:

They’re getting better, looks like they’re really trying to play catch-up and modernize themselves. I was about to leave them (mobile app from the 90s, quasi-inexistent interest rates on savings accounts, fees for external transfers even for Premier clients…), and they started launching change after change in the past few months: 2.30% APY savings account, brand new mobile app, no more transfer fees (that one is maybe just for Premier)… and real-time payments :slight_smile:

This is HSBC US right? I’ve no such thing in the UK, their app looks a little nicer than it did a few years ago but it’s nothing special :sweat_smile:

Yeah, HSBC US. The new app is nothing special, but so much better than the abomination we had before. I think it’s actually very similar to the “new” UK app released over a year ago.

1 Like

HSBC UK actually just got a 600m grant from the HSBC holdings company to bring themselves up to speed in the app department

I’m switching my RBS account over to eventually make use of their expat account :slight_smile: and porting of credit

You have to be joking. When you send a payment to a friend from HSBC USA online banking, it doesn’t ask you for the payee’s account number and clearing code, but for the payee’s postal address. HSBC then debits your account immediately and sends a cheque in the post to the payee. In some cases, if the payee’s bank accepts cheque deposits by post, you can give the address of the payee’s bank and put the payee’s account number in the payee field on the cheque. How backward is that?

Note the above statement “HSBC does not offer the capability to send an RTP payment at this time”.

I won’t have an account for the next few years and they mentioned an intent to implement RTP

For what it’s worth my bank of choice in the US would be Chase

That indeed made me laugh when I first interacted with their online banking :joy:

That was actually useful to pay my old-school landlord, who wouldn’t accept any form of payment but cheques…

Since then, HSBC has made the ACH and wire transfer options more visible in their online banking UI. I’ve never used that to pay friends though, since Revolut (for fellow expats) and Venmo (for US folks) were much faster and more convenient.

I hate that Venmo is locked to US users only :frowning: PayPal should expand it and just use it as a peer to peer global currency exchange meme