You've probably heard about RTP and FedNow. But there's another innovation in the real-time payments space that hardly anyone talks about: Request for Payment, or RfP. It's not flashy. It doesn't have the marketing hype of instant settlement. But for certain use cases, it's better.
And most fintech teams don't even know it exists.
What is Request for Payment?
Traditional ACH is "push" based. You initiate a payment and push money to someone's account. It's how payroll works. How bill payments work. How most transactions work. Request for Payment flips the dynamic. Instead of pushing money, you request it. The payment recipient initiates the pull.
Think about it: you're a B2B invoice platform. Today, you collect payments by having your customers push money to your merchant account. With RfP, your customers stay in their bank's app, see your payment request, and approve it directly. The money flows to you. For subscription platforms, marketplaces, and lending companies, this is profound.
Why RfP is a Gamechanger
The immediate payoff is speed. RfP through FedNow or RTP networks means the payment settles in seconds or minutes, not days. But the deeper payoff is control.
With push-based payments, customers need to leave their own banking experience to pay you. They go to your app, enter their bank credentials (or use a third-party like Plaid), and push money out. Friction. Abandonment risk.
With RfP, they stay in their bank's app. They see a request. They approve it. Done. They never leave their trusted environment. This is massive for completion rates. Studies show RfP-based flows have 15-25% higher approval rates than push-based payment flows.
Who Should use RfP Today?
If you're a subscription platform collecting recurring payments, RfP is a no-brainer. Customers approve recurring payment requests once, and subsequent payments pull automatically. Zero friction. Better cash flow.
If you're a lending platform collecting loan payments, RfP means borrowers can approve payments directly from their bank app instead of navigating your interface. Completion rates improve. Delinquencies drop.
If you're a marketplace taking commission, RfP means sellers can authorize payouts directly instead of relying on your system to push their earnings. Trust increases.
If you're a B2B platform collecting invoices or recurring fees, RfP means your customers stay in their accounting system's workflow. Better UX. Higher collection rates.
The Coverage Problem
So why hasn't everyone switched to RfP yet? Because coverage is still limited. Not every bank supports RfP requests. Not every payment rail handles them the same way. And managing multiple RfP implementations (FedNow RfP, RTP RfP, and legacy ACH pull workflows) is complex. This is where Sila helps!
Most fintech teams just stick with push-based payments because it's what everyone already built. But that gap is closing. Every major bank is adding RfP support. By 2027, the question won't be "can our customers' banks support RfP?" It'll be "why aren't we using it?"
How to Get Started
If you're building a product where customers authorize payments to you, RfP should be on your roadmap.
Here's the playbook:
- First, assess your use case. Is this a recurring payment (subscription)? One-time payment (invoice)? Do you need approval every time, or can it be recurring authorization? The use case determines which RfP flow makes sense.
- Second, understand your customer base. What percentage of your users are at banks that support RfP? Start there. You don't need 100% coverage to launch. Get to 60-70% and you've got a compelling advantage.
- Third, find a partner who handles multi-rail RfP. You need someone who can manage FedNow RfP, RTP RfP, and fallback to standard ACH pull when necessary. Don't build the routing logic yourself. The bank landscape moves too fast and this is what Sila’s ACHNow product handles.
- Fourth, test the UX impact. RfP flows should dramatically improve your approval rates and cash flow. Measure it. If it doesn't, your implementation probably has friction you haven't identified.
The Competitive Advantage
Here's the thing nobody talks about: RfP is underutilized right now. Most of your competitors haven't implemented it. That's your window. The fintech teams that get RfP right in 2026 will have a measurable competitive advantage in completion rates and cash flow that their competitors can't match.
Don't wait for RfP to become table stakes. Build it now while it's still a differentiator.
Your approval rates will thank you. Your cash flow will thank you. Your customers will thank you, and no more ACH disputes.