The Federal Reserve Banks and Equens have processed the first transatlantic automated clearinghouse payments using a new jointly developed channel.
The pair inked a memorandum of understanding on cross-border payments processing in multiple currencies, including the US dollar and euro, last year.
Since then DZ Bank has joined the project, which enables financial institutions in the US to send payments in dollars, euros and British pounds to 22 countries across Europe via FedGlobal ACH Payments.
Conversely, banks across Europe can send dollar payments via Equens to the United States. DZ Bank serves as the European gateway operator, with Equens acting as the payment processor.
Now, DZ Bank and US Bank have become the first institutions to use the service, which is the first live implementation under the International Payments Framework Association. The association is a collaborative effort among public and private groups in Africa, Europe, North America and South America to standardise and make more efficient the transfer of low-value payments around the world.
Michael Steinbach, chairman, board of directors, Equens, says: "This service fulfils an increasing demand within Europe for the efficient processing of low-value cross-border payments around the world. It is our ambition to extend this service to include other regions, countries and currencies."