Vocalink inks deal to modernize Peru’s payments infrastructure

Vocalink, a Mastercard company, signed a contract with Peru’s automated clearinghouse, Cámara de Compensación Electrónica, to modernize the country’s payment infrastructure, including support for real-time payments at all times.

The contract with Peru’s automated clearinghouse will create a comprehensive payment system that will be able to process a variety of electronic payments. The platform is designed to drive greater efficiencies across the economy, deliver enhanced availability and security for its users, reduce cash usage, as well as enable further innovation between payment systems.

“Once completed, customers will be able to pay or receive money in real time from any financial institution, allowing millions of people and businesses to make anytime instant payments,” Cesar Ferreyros, Cámara de Compensación Electrónica's chief executive, said in a press release Wednesday.

Dado Galdieri/Dado Galdieri

For Vocalink and Mastercard the deal demonstrates the attractiveness and versatility of its payments platform to other countries and businesses. Vocalink was instrumental in implementing the U.K.’s Faster Payment Service and was acquired by Mastercard in 2016. It also worked with The Clearing House in the U.S. to launch a new real-time bill payment service called Mastercard’s Bill Pay Exchange.

The Peruvian deal will upgrade the existing system that is used to support clearing and settlement of electronic payment methods including checks. It will also include an implementation of Vocalink’s Immediate Payment Solution, which will process and credit transfers in real time, enabling users to send and receive payments from their mobile phones using only the phone number.

The Vocalink IPS platform is the power behind the U.K.’s Faster Payments Service, as well as other real-time payment solutions globally, including the FAST service in Singapore, PromptPay in Thailand and The Clearing House’s real-time payments service in the U.S.