Abstract: A method to perform a payment comprises receiving a request from a payer to pay a payee, wherein the request comprises a payer account ID and a payee account ID; receiving, based on the payer account ID, a reservation confirmation that a payment amount is reserved from the payer's payment account; retrieving, based on the payee account ID, a receiving clearing account (RCA) ID identifying an RCA held at the payee financial institution; and initiating, by a computer processor and in response to the reservation confirmation, a settlement process comprising: transferring the payment amount from the RCA to the payee's payment account using a payee electronic funds transfer (EFT) capability of the payee's financial institution within a single business day of receiving the request by the payment service provider; and debiting the payment amount from the payer's payment account to reimburse the RCA.