Mastercard RPPS: Understanding Remote Payment Processing

MasterCard Remote Payment and Presentment Service (RPPS) is a payment processing and presentment hub.

Background

MasterCard introduced the MasterCard Remittance Processing Service in 1987. The name of the service was changed to Remote Payment and Presentment Service (RPPS) in 2000, when MasterCard added electronic bill payment and presentment (EBPP) to the service.

Electronic Bill Payment and Presentment

MasterCard claims that the RPPS service is connected to 95% of the providers in the EBPP industry. The features that RPPS offers, MasterCard says, include routing and settlement within 24 hours, risk management procedures, and automatic editing of customer accounts to correspond to the needs of the biller.

Online Bill Payment

MasterCard promotes the usefulness of RPPS for online bill payment systems, noting the efficiency of payments transmitted with MasterCard RPPS, rather than with paper checks. MasterCard claims that 32 million households pay bills online at bank websites.

Electronic Payments Maximizer

MasterCard points to value-added features of MasterCard RPPS, including the Electronic Payments Maximizer. This service examines a check file to see if payments that are earmarked as check payments can instead be converted to electronic payments.

Account Conversion Technology

MasterCard states that the Account Conversion Technology aspect of MasterCard RPPS helps prevent routing issues that stem from incorrect account information. MasterCard RPPS notes payments that require conversion to a new account number, executes the conversion, and reroutes the payment.

Electronic Exceptions Service

According to MasterCard, the Electronic Exceptions Service feature of MasterCard RPPS reduces the number of payments that can not be handled electronically and that instead need to be paid by paper check. With this service, MasterCard says, exception payments are posted more quickly, and the cost of processing exception payments is reduced.