About the Request-to-Pay function
Requesting a payment in exchange of goods or service can in the future become a standardised foregoing part of a payment transaction. This will happen if the payments markets implement a new scheme for such a request-to-pay. The scheme will allow creditors (“payees”) to request payments from individual debtor (“payers”). This function is therefore called a “Request-to-Pay” (RTP).
A RTP Scheme Rulebook covers the set of operating rules and technical elements (including messages) that allow a payee to request the initiation of a payment from a payer in a wide range of physical or online use cases. The RTP is a messaging functionality. It is not a means of payment or a payment instrument, but a way to request an initiation of a payment.
The common rules and processes, as well as messages standards for RTP, are based on the international standards ISO 20022 and will facilitate payments to create interoperability as well as reachability between the different actors as participants in the Scheme.
To ensure reachability and interoperability between all the actors throughout the whole value chain, the participants in such a Scheme will consist of both PSPs and non-PSPs.
The 4-corner model in the Rulebook allows interoperability by nature and responds to the needs of an end-to-end user experience and “straight-through processing” when requesting a payment and involves multiple RTP service providers and payment networks.
A common currency agnostic European RTP Scheme
EPC published the first version 1.0 of the SRTP Scheme Rulebook in November 2020. The EPC aims for reachability and interoperability not only for the euro-zone but for the whole of Europe. There is now an ongoing change management process regarding the SRTP Rulebook including a public consultation in the market from May 25th to August 27th.
One change request in the above-mentioned consultation to evolve the SRTP Rulebook to become currency agnostic (CR no .4) allowing for payment requests to be made in all SEPA area countries which include the Nordic currencies (Danish Kroner, Swedish Krona and Norwegian Kroner) and any other SEPA area currency. The EPC suggested that this will be included in the version 2.0 version of SRTP as an option. Decision will be taken in November 2021. This is in line with the ambition of the NPC and by including this change request the SRTP Scheme version 2.0 will be currency agnostic.
About the Nordic Payments Council RTP work
The objective for the NPC is to contribute to harmonised payments in the Nordics.
The main tasks foreseen for the NPC is to develop and maintain payment schemes based on the EPC SEPA payment schemes to facilitate payments within the Nordics, in chosen Nordic currencies.
The NPC has a strong commitment to ensure a RTP scheme for the Nordics and for Nordic currencies. Therefore, we have through the Nordic representatives in the EPC contributed to the work designing the SRTP and have worked with the aim that the next version of the EPC SRTP Scheme Rulebook will be currency agnostic.
Suggestion for the Nordic market actors
The NPC would like to encourage all Nordic market actors interested in RTP to take part in the EPC public consultation of the EPC SRTP Scheme Rulebook. This is the opportunity to influence the content of the Rulebook that will be most likely also used for the Nordic currencies (Danish Kroner, Swedish Krona and Norwegian Kroner).
Anyone can participate in the EPC Public consultation which is open from May 25th to August 27th and all information regarding the EPC public consultation is found here:
The NPC will be happy to answer all further questions or comments, please get in touch with us on info@npcouncil.org.