FIS, a provider of financial services technology, has struck an agreement with The Clearing House to provide technology to speed up testing and certification for financial institutions connecting to RTP, the real-time payments system launched by TCH.

Financial institutions and payment firms looking to connect to RTP are required to run a variety of simulated tests prior to being certified on the RTP system.

New software from FIS, available as both a hosted service and an on-premises solution, will automate this process in order to streamline the precertification and certification process, according to a press release from FIS.

"U.S. financial institutions are eager to bring real-time payments to their customers as quickly as possible," said Marianne Brown, FIS co-chief operating officer. "By simplifying and expediting the testing and certification process financial institutions will be able to realize the benefits of real-time payments more quickly."

"RTP offers real-time transaction clearing and settlement for all U.S. banks and credit unions," Russ Waterhouse, TCH executive vice president of product development and strategy, said in the press release. "Automating the testing and certification process will make it easier and faster for these institutions to get on board."