Is Request to Pay the same as RTP?

Not always. RTP often means real-time payments, and it is also the name of The Clearing House's US instant network. Request to Pay is a messaging service that can run on such networks. In the US it is called Request for Payment (RfP).

Three meanings of RTP

• Real-time payments in general: instant account-to-account transfers, such as SEPA Instant or Faster Payments.
• The RTP network: the instant payment system run by The Clearing House in the US.
• Request to Pay: in the UK and Europe, RTP is sometimes used as an abbreviation for this messaging service.

How they fit together

Request to Pay is a message: it asks for a payment. The actual money moves over a payment rail, often an instant one. In the US, both the RTP network and FedNow support Request for Payment messages. In Europe, SEPA Request-to-Pay can trigger SEPA Instant or standard transfers.

Why the confusion matters

Documentation, contracts and product names can mean different things by RTP. When discussing a project, it helps to spell out whether the topic is the rail, the network or the request service.

What it means for payment operators

For you, Request to Pay and instant payments are separate building blocks. Access to instant rails in each market, plus request messaging where available, gives your merchants account-to-account options that fit local infrastructure.