Payments are humming across a variety of rails to countless businesses and consumers at any given moment in the U.S. With so many available payment methods, end users, and use cases, the payments landscape can be a tangled web of rules and regulations. It also can be a challenge for industry stakeholders to navigate the often complicated payments world, prompting calls for a simplified and automated process for exchanging payment-related information. Financial institutions of all sizes and specialties, as well as payment processors, emerging fintechs, and many others would benefit from such a process. With a large cross-section of the payments world in need of a solution, Nacha has responded with Phixius, an online platform that brings together technology, rules, and participants to streamline and modernize how payment information is exchanged. Nacha plans to make Phixius available to early adopter organizations in May 2020. To learn more about Phixius, PaymentsJournal sat down with George Throckmorton, Nacha’s managing director of Strategic Initiatives & Network Development. During the conversation, Throckmorton spoke about the current issues with exchanging payment information, how Phixius addresses these pain points, and why Nacha is well positioned to lead these modernization efforts. PaymentsJournalWith Phixius, Nacha Sets Its Sights on Modernizing and Streamlining the Payments ProcessPaymentsJournal With Phixius, Nacha Sets Its Sights on Modernizing and Streamlining the Payments ProcessPaymentsJournaljQuery(document).ready(function ($){var settings_ap23008789 = { design_skin: "skin-wave" ,autoplay: "off",disable_volume:"default" ,loop:"off" ,cue: "on" ,embedded: "off" ,preload_method:"metadata" ,design_animateplaypause:"off" ,skinwave_dynamicwaves:"off" ,skinwave_enableSpectrum:"off" ,skinwave_enableReflect:"on",settings_backup_type:"full",playfrom:"default",soundcloud_apikey:"" ,skinwave_comments_enable:"off",settings_php_handler:window.ajaxurl,skinwave_wave_mode:"canvas",pcm_data_try_to_generate: "on","pcm_notice": "off","notice_no_media": "on",design_color_bg: "111111",design_color_highlight: "ef6b13",skinwave_wave_mode_canvas_waves_number: "3",skinwave_wave_mode_canvas_waves_padding: "1",skinwave_wave_mode_canvas_reflection_size: "0.25",skinwave_comments_playerid:"23008789",php_retriever:"https://www.paymentsjournal.com/wp-content/plugins/dzs-zoomsounds/soundcloudretriever.php" }; try{ dzsap_init(".ap_idx_84688_2",settings_ap23008789); }catch(err){ console.warn("cannot init player", err); } }); A solution to a problem 10 years in the making The payments industry has contended with an inefficient means of exchanging payment-related information for at least a decade. Yet, the problems do not lie in “making” the payments. “It’s not just about the routing of payments. I think that’s a misconception,” said Throckmorton. “When we talk about payment-related information, it’s about the authenticity and richness of that information.” Bundled into the authenticity of the data is a range of important aspects of making a payment, including invoicing, compliance data, and payment remittance. One central issue connecting all of these aspects is a lack of automation. “When payment information is exchanged today, it’s very manually intensive,” said Throckmorton. Companies often rely on phone calls, emails, and even the U.S. Postal Service to exchange the relevant information. These methods are slow, prone to human error, and costly.