Glossary of terms
Immediate payments
Immediate payments (IP), also known as instant payments, faster payments and real-time payments.
Key features include:
- Immediate availability of funds to the beneficiary of the transaction
- Irrevocability: once a payment has been made, the sender cannot deauthorize the transfer
-
Confirmation of funds via real-time balance. Once a payment is authorized, the sender’s account balance
reflects the deduction instantaneously
- While settlement timing may vary by scheme, it is often completed within a matter of seconds
- Newer IP systems are often based on ISO 20022, the de facto real-time standard
Digital overlay services
Digital overlay services have appeared in global markets, particularly where we see high levels of real-time payments adoption.
These ancillary services often ride the real-time payments rails, and are flexible, nimble drivers of innovation. They enable many kinds of alternative payment methods.
The front-end touchpoint for consumers, merchants or corporate customers is a digital overlay service, as it’s about connecting IP to a purchasing experience, billing scenario or accounts payable process. Google Pay, WhatsApp Pay, Amazon Pay, Paytm and Walmart PhonePe are all examples of real-life overlay services.
RfP/RtP/R2P
Request for Payment/Request to Pay can be both a digital overlay service used by an end user to request or make a payment, as well as the core functionality of a central infrastructure (CI) – usually a real-time payments CI – that provides the RfP transaction flows and rules to play in the RfP network.
RfP has use cases across P2P, M2C and B2B scenarios, where IP needs to be integrated into a seamless workflow or interaction.
Central/national infrastructure
A centralized system for a payments network, including for IP. Referred to as a scheme, system or platform depending on locale. Providing a framework and/or rulebook for payments messaging and processing as well as digital overlay services.
From a CI point of view, RfP is either a capability within the IP CI itself or a closely related offering by the same CI provider. In some markets the CI has powers to fine participants for missed SLAs, to set variable fees for participants, and to mandate centralized fraud reporting.
Definitions
| CSM |
Clearing and Settlement Mechanisms |
| CI |
Central Infrastructure |
| SCT Inst |
SEPA Instant Credit Transfer |
| TIPS |
TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS), pan-European single currency instant payments system launched by the European Central Bank (ECB) |
| RT1 |
Pan-European single currency instant payments system launched by EBA Clearing |
| USSD |
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data |
| EFT |
Electronic Funds Transfer |
Payment dynamics
| P2P |
Person to Person or Peer to Peer |
| G2C |
Government to Consumer |
| B2C |
Business to Consumer |
| C2B |
Consumer to Business |
| C2G |
Consumer to Government |
| B2B |
Business to Business |
| B2G |
Business to Government |
| G2B |
Government to Business |
| C2M |
Consumer to Merchant |
| M2C |
Merchant to Consumer |
