#41 - Elena Casal, Chief Client Officer at The Clearing House

Slice of Finance Team

04/28/2025

#41 - Elena Casal, Chief Client Officer at The Clearing House

Join us on this week's episode of the Slice of Finance podcast, hosted by Jared S. Taylor!

Our Guest: Elena Casal, Chief Client Officer at The Clearing House.

What you’ll get out of this episode:

Elena Casal discusses the evolution and role of The Clearing House in U.S. payments.
Real-time payments enable money transfers in 15 seconds or less with no settlement risk.
Challenges include legacy banking systems and technology integration.
RTP use cases span small business funding, gig worker pay, and digital wallet transfers.
Fintech collaborations and security innovations are shaping the future of payments.

Watch

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The Clearing House: A Pillar of U.S. Payments

Elena Casal, Chief Client Officer at The Clearing House, brings deep insight into the company’s central role in U.S. financial infrastructure. With over 170 years of industry presence, The Clearing House processes an astonishing $2 trillion daily across ACH, wire, check image, and real-time payments (RTP).

What Are Real-Time Payments?

Casal explains RTP as transactions completed in 15 seconds or less—end-to-end, with no settlement risk. These payments provide users, whether businesses or individuals, with precision control, ensuring money moves exactly when desired, not simply faster.

Benefits of Instant Transactions

From better cash flow visibility to operational efficiencies, real-time payments help businesses and consumers alike. One often overlooked benefit is immediate confirmation, enabling businesses to finalize invoices and maintain trust between parties swiftly.

Facing the Tech Hurdles

Despite its advantages, RTP adoption isn’t without challenges. Financial institutions often face legacy systems and must overhaul tech stacks to enable true real-time functionality. Success depends on both technology investment and strategic consumer outreach.

Who’s On the Network?

The RTP network has nearly 1,000 financial institutions onboard and reaches over 70% of U.S. deposit accounts. Anecdotal reach climbs to 90% when considering typical ACH and wire payment destinations—so the mantra is: just start sending.

Use Cases and Real-World Impact

Elena outlines several active RTP applications: intra-business fund sweeps, same-day merchant settlements, gig economy payouts, and digital wallet transactions. The raised $10 million limit supports broader business use.

Partnerships Paving the Way

To expand real-time payment capabilities, The Clearing House partners with over 30 fintech vendors and service providers. These relationships focus on aligning digital infrastructure and user-facing applications with the RTP vision.

What’s Next?

Two key trends are shaping the future: secure open banking integration and the evolution of request-for-payment systems. Both aim to improve user control, transparency, and security in the payment ecosystem.