German banking magazine names Request to Pay provider PAYCY Solution of the Month

Request to Pay (RTP) is a payment scheme that allows the biller to send a payment request directly to the payer's bank account. It is typically used by corporate customers who send invoices electronically; RTP can deliver the invoice itself as metadata and thus makes the bank account the Single Point of Truth.

For invoice issuers, manual processes and postage costs are eliminated, as other attachments can be delivered directly to the invoice recipient's bank account in addition to the invoice itself, and the entire payment process is digital (i.e., automatable). Unlike direct debit, transfers associated with RTP cannot be returned, making the payment secure and final.

An invoice issuer submits the invoice data to their bank, which forwards this information in the form of an RTP request. The system typically operates in what is known as a 4-corner model: the invoice issuer, the invoice issuer's bank, the recipient's bank, and the end customer form the four corners.

The recipient sees the payment request in their banking app, online banking, or, for business customers, embedded in their ERP environment. The recipient can immediately approve, reject, or mark the request for later, or—depending on the options offered by the bank—choose alternative payment methods. It is important to note that Request to Pay is not a clearing system in its own right: The actual movement of funds takes place via the existing payment infrastructure, with RTP often linked to instant payments.

The combination of e-invoicing and RTP eliminates the previous media discontinuity between billing and banking: The account acts as a single point of truth, facilitating automatic posting and reconciliation and increasing straight-through processing rates.

For banks, RTP represents both a technical and a strategic framework for action. Technically, institutions must provide interfaces and connect to RTP networks or, in the unique case of PAYCY, to a broker platform so that requests can be reliably delivered in a 1:n scenario. Platforms such as PAYCY often take on the role of “digital postman” to ensure deliverability.

Operationally, the aim is to integrate RTP functions into banking apps and corporate portals and enable seamless ERP connections for corporate customers so that invoice recipients can process payment requests directly in the business process and achieve STP workflows. There are also numerous product options available: Banks can link payment requests to additional services, such as instalment payments or buy-now-pay-later for consumers, as well as supply chain financing, factoring, or discounting solutions for corporate customers.

Compliance and risk processes also benefit from linking invoices and payments, as validation steps (e.g., for fraud prevention or sales tax control) can be made more efficient. Strategically, RTP gives banks the opportunity to strengthen the account as a central touchpoint for digital invoicing processes, increase customer loyalty, and tap into new sources of revenue. Because RTP is based on the SEPA Request to Pay Scheme (SRTP) and the instant payment infrastructure, banks can simultaneously support European standards and improve the economic return on their instant payment investments.

Given that Request to Pay is based on a 4-corner model and every bank must be able to reach every other bank, PAYCY acts as the central RTP broker in the value chain described above.

As a “digital postman,” the platform checks before sending whether a recipient has an account with an affiliated bank, thus ensuring that an outgoing payment request can actually be delivered. This delivery check solves the classic 1:n problem: Without such an intermediary function, each bank would have to address every other bank individually, which would make it much more difficult to establish a comprehensive network.

PAYCY thus contributes significantly to the accessibility and robustness of the overall system and makes it easier for banks to offer RTP services without having to implement all bilateral technical connections themselves. In practical terms, this means that banks gain reach more quickly and exceptions are reduced by connecting to such a broker platform.

Therefore, PAYCY becomes a central infrastructure factor that ensures the practical deliverability of RTP messages and thus supports the broader market entry of the procedure.