What The Clearing House does

The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C. is America's most experienced payments company, operating U.S.-based payment networks that collectively clear and settle more than $2 trillion daily. The company traces its roots to 1853 when major banks formed a consortium for check clearing, and today operates four core payment networks: CHIPS (the world's largest private-sector USD clearing and settlement system for high-value wires, processing $2+ trillion daily across ~50 direct participants with a patented netting algorithm delivering 26:1 liquidity efficiency and $5.5B in annualized economic savings), EPN (the ACH network processing ~$60 trillion annually), Image Exchange (check image clearing), and RTP (the nation's largest real-time payments network launched in 2017, covering 98% of U.S. bank-to-bank instant payments across 1,200+ financial institutions). In June 2026, the company launched a tokenized deposit infrastructure — a bank-led on-chain initiative supported by 25 major financial institutions (JPMorgan, BofA, Citi, Wells Fargo, BNY, HSBC, BMO and others) connecting blockchain activity with traditional payment rails within the regulated banking framework.

The Clearing House is privately owned by a consortium of approximately 25 major U.S. banks, making it a cooperative infrastructure entity rather than a venture-backed or publicly traded company. Revenue is generated primarily through network transaction fees (across CHIPS, EPN, RTP, and Image Exchange) and recurring participant fees (RTP participant fee schedule updated annually), with pricing structured as transaction-based take rates plus annual billing for network access. Distribution is direct enterprise sales to depository financial institutions globally, complemented by education and certification services through wholly-owned subsidiaries TCHPA (payments education and training) and ECCHO (check payments education including the NCP certification program). Supporting services include the TCH Token Service for secure account data tokenization and UID Lookup for CHIPS participant identification. The company employs 251-500 people across New York City headquarters and a secondary Winston-Salem, NC office, operating as a high-leverage infrastructure utility with revenue-per-employee characteristics consistent with payment network operators.

The company's strategic positioning emphasizes institutional trust, regulatory compliance, and technological reliability as the primary differentiators versus blockchain-native and stablecoin-based alternatives. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales engaging financial institution executives through direct relationships, industry conferences (including the annual November conference), advocacy engagement with regulators, and thought leadership via research partnerships with organizations like PYMNTS Intelligence. ISO 20022 migration completion in July 2025 and the tokenized deposit launch position TCH at the center of U.S. payment modernization, with customer segments spanning depository financial institutions (primary), consumer banking end-recipients of real-time disbursements, and increasingly corporate treasury users for tokenized deposit and programmable money use cases.

Name

The Clearing House

Legal name

The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C.

Website

https://theclearinghouse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Clearing House is a bank-owned payments infrastructure company operating CHIPS (wire), EPN (ACH), Image Exchange, and RTP (real-time) networks that collectively clear and settle over $2 trillion daily for 1,200+ U.S. financial institutions. Founded in 1853 and co-owned by 25 major banks, it recently launched tokenized deposit infrastructure connecting blockchain and traditional payment rails.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Network Infrastructure

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Real-Time Payments (RTP) Processing & Clearing (FSAMAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

ACH Operator & Clearinghouse Services (FSAMAGAA), Interbank Clearing (Domestic Clearing Systems) (FSABAJAB), Blockchain Settlement & Clearing Infrastructure (On-/Off-chain Post-Trade) (FSAGAMAC)

Keywords

• Payment network infrastructure
• Real-time payments
• Wire transfer clearing
• ACH processing services
• Banking consortium

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Network Transaction Fees: Revenue generated from processing payments across CHIPS, EPN, RTP, and Image Exchange networks. CHIPS processes over $2 trillion daily; EPN processes ACH transactions; RTP processes real-time payments.
2. Participant Fees: Fees charged to financial institutions for participation in payment networks including RTP. RTP participant fee schedule is published and updated annually.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Clearing House operates U.S.-based payment networks that clear and settle more than $2 trillion each day across wire transfers (CHIPS), ACH (EPN), check image exchange, and real-time payments (RTP). It offers participating financial institutions network access via direct participant agreements, supported by ISO 20022 messaging, a patented netting algorithm, tokenization services, and an emerging tokenized deposit infrastructure connecting blockchain activity to traditional payment rails.

Product overview

The Clearing House operates as a payment infrastructure company managing multiple complementary payment networks that collectively clear and settle more than $2 trillion each day through wire, ACH, check image, and real-time payments. The core product portfolio centers on four payment networks: the RTP Network (real-time instant payments launched 2017), CHIPS Network (high-value wire clearing and settlement processing $2 trillion daily), EPN (ACH batch electronic transfers), and Image Exchange Network (check image clearing). Supporting services include the TCH Token Service for secure account data tokenization, UID Lookup for CHIPS participant identification, and the Tokenized Deposit Infrastructure for blockchain-based deposit settlement. The company also operates education and certification divisions through TCHPA (payments education and training) and ECCHO (check payments education including the NCP certification program). This platform-plus-services architecture positions The Clearing House as the nation's most experienced payments company serving financial institutions with secure, reliable, and innovative payment infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CHIPS: Clearing House Interbank Payments System - the world's largest private-sector U.S. dollar clearing and settlement system processing over $2 trillion daily
• RTP
• EPN
• TCH Token Service
• ECCHO
• TCHPA

Products and services

• RTP Network (Real-Time Payments) The nation's largest real-time payment system that processes instant payments 24/7/365 with immediate clearing and settlement, supporting transactions up to $10 million. Processes over 98% of the U.S. economy's bank-to-bank instant payments, with 1,200+ participating banks and credit unions.
• CHIPS Network The world's largest private-sector U.S. dollar clearing and settlement system, processing over $2 trillion in domestic and international payments daily. Uses a patented algorithm combining multilateral and bilateral netting, intelligent queuing, and continuous intraday net settlement, achieving a 26:1 liquidity efficiency ratio and delivering $5.5 billion in annualized economic savings to participants in 2025.
• EPN (Electronic Payments Network) The Automated Clearing House (ACH) network operated by The Clearing House, enabling batch electronic funds transfers for financial institutions. Processes approximately $60 trillion annually in ACH volumes.
• Image Exchange Network A check image clearing house operating as a peer-to-peer network where participants exchange images directly with one another, with TCH maintaining visibility into summary cash letter information necessary for settlement.
• TCH Token Service Generates tokens and manages the translation of tokens to actual account numbers, improving security by replacing sensitive account data with digital tokens in ACH and real-time payments networks. Supports Open Banking and aims to reduce fraud and data breaches.
• Tokenized Deposit Infrastructure On-chain clearing and settlement infrastructure for tokenized deposits across a network of U.S. banks, enabling faster fund movement and more efficient liquidity management. Bridges on-chain activity with traditional payment rails such as RTP and CHIPS while maintaining regulated banking oversight.
• UID Lookup Universal Identifier lookup service for CHIPS participants. CHIPS UID is used for routing and identification within the CHIPS network.
• NCP Certification (National Check Professional) Premier accreditation program for payment professionals providing career enhancement in check payments. Includes study materials, exam preparation, coach program, and continuing education requirements. Exam fee: $500 for ECCHO Members/Sponsoring Organizations/Education Subscribers; $625 for Non-Members.

Quantifiable outcome

• $5.5 billion in annualized economic savings for CHIPS participants in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BMO Financial GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 June 2026BMO joined the bank-led initiative led by The Clearing House to develop digital money infrastructure for clearing and settlement of tokenized deposits across U.S. banks, enabling faster fund movement and more efficient liquidity management.
• JPMorgan ChasecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Major U.S. bank participating in bank-led tokenized deposit network initiative operated by The Clearing House. JPMorgan Chase is part of the consortium of 25 major financial institutions developing on-chain clearing and settlement of tokenized deposits.
• Bank of AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Major U.S. bank participating in tokenized deposit network initiative. Bank of America is among the 25 largest financial institutions supporting the bank-led on-chain money initiative.
• CitigroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Major U.S. bank participating in tokenized deposit network. Citigroup is part of the bank consortium developing programmable commercial bank money across blockchain infrastructure.
• Wells FargocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Major U.S. bank participating in tokenized deposit network. Wells Fargo is among the founding banks in the bank-led on-chain money initiative.
• BNYcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Major bank participating in tokenized deposit network. BNY is part of the participating banks including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, BMO, Citi, Citizens, Fifth Third, and HSBC.
• HSBCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026International bank participating in the tokenized deposit network initiative. HSBC is part of the consortium of 25 major financial institutions supporting the bank-led on-chain money initiative.
• Star One Credit UnionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026Credit union client connected to RTP network through Payfinia's IPX platform. Among first credit unions to go live on the RTP network.
• Credit Union of ColoradominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026Credit union client connected to RTP network through Payfinia's IPX platform.
• Patelco Credit UnionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026Credit union client connected to RTP network through Payfinia's IPX platform.
• Huntington BancsharescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Huntington Bank joined CHIPS network in May 2026, gaining access to high-value payment capabilities supporting its $285 billion asset base following acquisitions of Veritex and Cadence Bank.
• Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit UnionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026$18 billion credit union joined RTP network in January 2025. Processed over 273,000 RTP transactions representing over $120 million in deposit volume from January through June 2025.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Federal Reserve (FedNow / FedWire / FedACH): Operates FedNow (competing real-time payments rail launched 2023), FedWire (large-value wire transfer system), and FedACH. Direct competitor to TCH's RTP, CHIPS, and EPN networks across both real-time and batch payment clearing, with parallel regulatory mandate and similar institutional customer base of US banks.
• Nacha: Governs the ACH Network rules and operates as the central administrator for ACH in the US, comparable in role to how TCH operates EPN (also an ACH operator). Both organizations serve as rule-makers and infrastructure operators for US electronic payments alongside the Federal Reserve's FedACH.

Broad incumbents

• SWIFT: Global interbank messaging and payments network connecting 11,000+ institutions across 200+ countries. Comparable as cross-border payment-infrastructure incumbent relevant to TCH's CHIPS international payments business and tokenized-deposit cross-border ambitions.
• Visa: Operates the world's largest electronic payments network (VisaNet), processing 200B+ transactions annually. Comparable as a large-scale bank-association-originated payment network operator with similar transaction-fee revenue model and institutional FI customer base.
• Mastercard: Global payments network operator; notably owns Vocalink, which built and continues to operate the technology underlying TCH's RTP network (launched 2017). Comparable as both a payments-network incumbent and the underlying technology provider for TCH's flagship real-time rail.
• Fiserv: Large fintech and payment-processing incumbent providing bank technology, merchant acquiring, and money-movement infrastructure. Comparable as US bank-serving payment technology provider that complements (and competes with) TCH's network services at the application and integration layer.
• FIS (Fidelity National Information Services): Major provider of banking and payments technology to US financial institutions, including core processing and real-time payment enablement. Comparable as incumbent technology provider connecting FIs to TCH networks (CHIPS, RTP, EPN).

Emerging players

• Circle (USDC): Issuer of USDC stablecoin and operates cross-border payment and treasury infrastructure on blockchain rails. Comparable as an emerging competitor to TCH's tokenized-deposit initiative for programmable digital money and cross-border corporate payments.
• Ripple (XRP / RippleNet): Operates blockchain-based cross-border payment infrastructure targeting bank and corporate treasury use cases. Comparable as an emerging alternative to TCH's CHIPS and tokenized-deposit rails for international USD settlement.
• Modern Treasury: API-first payment operations platform connecting corporations to bank rails (including RTP and ACH) for treasury and disbursement workflows. Comparable as a modern layer on top of TCH networks enabling corporate adoption of RTP/tokenized deposits.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-clearing-house
• Xx.com/tchtweets

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Clearing House