Real Time Transfers
Consumers and businesses alike want to be able to transfer money as quickly as possible in near real time. Whether this is peer-to-peer or bank-to-bank transactions, they want to see the money land in their accounts as quickly as possible. Instant Payments are not permitted for foreign payments. These are domestic-only networks, which means that an instant payment cannot be sent to a foreign bank. Mbanq supports two Real Time Transfer Payment Rails.
RTP via TCH
The RTP network, the real-time payments system from The Clearing House, was one of the first new core payments infrastructure in the U.S. in more than 40 years when launched. TCH's RTP Network launched in November 2017 and has been the leading real-time payment service in the U.S. The RTP network is currently accessible to financial institutions that hold close to 90% of U.S. demand deposit accounts (DDAs), and the network currently reaches 65% of U.S. DDAs. The RTP network is open to all federally insured U.S. depository institutions.
FedNow
FedNow is the Federal Reserve's first real-time payment service. FedNow officially launched on July 20, 2023. Through financial institutions participating in the FedNow Service, businesses and individuals can send and receive instant payments in real time, around the clock, every day of the year. Financial institutions and their service providers can use the service to provide innovative instant payment services to customers, and recipients will have full access to funds immediately, allowing for greater financial flexibility when making time-sensitive payments.
RTP vs. FedNow
| RTP | FedNow | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Network | Owned and operated by The Clearing House network. RTP was established in 2017. | Operated by the Federal Reserve Bank. FedNow uses the FedLine network. Launched in July of 2023. |
| Availability | 24/7/365 | 24/7/365 |
| Participation | Any federally insured depository institution can be an RTP network participant. | FedNow is open to all banks and credit unions with no requirements to join |
| Settlement Speed | Instant | Instant |
| Transfer Type | Credit only | Credit only |
| Maximum Payment Limit | $1 million | $500,000 |
Note
Both sending and receiving banks must be part of the same Real Time Payment network to send a payment over that network. Each participating bank on either network is registered by their routing number(s), which is used to disclose the eligibility of the bank to receive various payment or non-payment messages.
A credit transfer is the specific message in the Instant Payments network used to transfer money between banks in real time (also referred to as pacs.008). The debtor is the account owner who sends the credit transfer, and the creditor is the account owner who receives the credit transfer. The debtor FI is the bank that sends the credit transfer, and the creditor FI is the bank that receives the credit transfer. This is the same thing as a PUSH payment. One party (debtor) sends funds to another party (creditor).
- Instant Payments networks do not use PULL payments. One party cannot debit (take) funds from another party's bank account.
- Instant payments transactions and requests are made by messagesClosed sent between the debtor, creditor, their respective financial institutions, and the Instant Payments network.
The Mbanq RTP network interoperability solution delivers the payment to the creditor as efficiently and effectively as possible. When you originate an Real Time Payment:
- If both networks are available and online, we use a "network preference," based on the product configuration.
- If only one network can be used, we route the payment through that network.
- If both networks can be used but only one is online, we use that online network.
- If neither network can be used, the payment fails.
Positive Confirmation Model
Real Time Payment transactions require the receiving financial institution (RDFI) to confirm the accuracy of the information passed in the transaction message in a matter of seconds. If the RDFI does not verify the accuracy of the information in the RTP transaction message, the transaction will time out and fail, resulting in a rejected payment.
Rejection and Response Messages
The Platform solution should be able to properly handle all the following responses.
Payment status
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Created | The initial status of inbound and outbound payments |
| Pending | Outbound - payment is being validated prior to submission to the RTP network Inbound - payment has been received transaction is being authorized |
| Processing | Outbound - payment has been submitted to the Instant Payments network Inbound - payment has been authorized and is waiting confirmation from the Instant Payments Network that transaction has processed successfully |
| Completed* | Outbound- Payment was accepted and received by the receiving institution Inbound- Payment has been accepted and received For credit transfers, completed also means the payment has posted successfully |
| Rejected* | Inbound - payment was automatically or manually rejected Outbound - the receiving institution or the RTP Network rejected the payment Reason Code for the rejection can be found in Result.Code on the payment |
| Canceled* | An outbound payment initiated by an internal user and canceled while in a hold status. A payment may only be canceled while either in a Hold or ResearchRequired status. |
| Hold | The payment is currently on hold and being reviewed by the Operations Team |
| TimedOut* | A payment was not acknowledged within the SLA with The Clearing House |
| Failed* | The payment has failed due to technical reasons |
| Finalizing | Payment is in process of posting to an account |
| ResearchRequired | Response to an outbound payment was not received and manual review of the payment is required to determine if the payment should be canceled or completed |
*A final status for a payment
Payment Types
The payment type provides details about the transaction.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| CreditTransfer | Payment sent by a Debtor FI to a Creditor FI |
| ReturnRequest | The originator of the original payment is requesting the funds be returned. This is a non-monetary transaction. |
| ReturnResponse | Response to a Return of Funds request. This is a non-monetary transaction. The actual money movement to return funds would be done in another payment as a credit transfer. This is a non-monetary transaction |
| SystemTimeout | Notification to the Creditor FI that a Credit Transfer has timed-out This is a non-monetary transaction |
| Unknown | Payment type was not recognized |
Transaction Status
Network status of the payment, as set by the receiving institution
| Status | Description | Network platform |
|---|---|---|
| ACTC | Payment has been accepted | TCH, FedNow |
| RJCT | Payment or Payment-related message has been rejected | TCH, FedNow |
| RCVD | Payment-related message has been received by the receiving institution | TCH |
| ACWP | Payment instruction included in the credit transfer is Accepted but not yet posted to the Creditor’s account | TCH, FedNow |
| ACCC | Payment has posted to the Creditor Customer's account | FedNow |
| ACSC | Accepted settlement completed | FedNow |
| BLCK | A payment instruction that previously had an ACWP status is blocked. Funds will neither be posted to the Creditor's account nor returned to the Debtor's account. (FedNow specific) | FedNow |
| PDNG | A payment instruction that had an ACWP status still has not posted to the Creditor's account (FedNow specific) | FedNow |
RTP-TCH Specific Responses
Please refer to the RTP-TCH Response Guide for more details on specific RTP-TCH responses.
FedNow Specific Responses
Please refer to the FedNow Response Guide for more details on specific FedNow responses.
Updated 8 months ago