What is my credit union's first step?
Since the RTP® network and FedNow® Service are not interoperable, adopting both rails and becoming receive-only participants should be your credit union’s first step.
Credit unions can start with a "Receive" profile and later expand to a "Send" profile, prioritizing use cases like P2P or B2C that align with member demand and offer significant value. Understanding members’ needs, marketplace trends, and institutional goals is critical, and insights from payment associations or peers can help guide these decisions.
Once you’ve decided on which rail to implement first, you’ll need to make four main decisions, as visualized in the following chart:
As you can see, the RTP network and FedNow Service are structured very similarly. So, regardless of your choice, your credit union will still face four decision points as you move along your journey.
Below is a summary of each decision point:
- Identify your participation role. Both the FedNow Service and RTP network rails provide the ability to receive, send, and a request for payment (RfP) profile. At the very least, credit unions need to move toward the ability to receive on a rail.
- Determine the best connection: Immediate payments require a connection to a core, so one of the most important decisions is analyzing the best method to connect your core to one of the rails. This connection can be achieved directly or through a third-party service provider, like Corporate One. (On the FedNow Service, this is defined as just a “Service Provider.”)
- Decide on a funding model. The RTP network and FedNow Service require send-participant credit unions to have a prefunded balance, and both rails allow for liquidity management. On the RTP network, this is done through a Funding Agent. On the FedNow Service, this is accomplished using the liquidity management tool. While receive-participant credit unions will not be concerned with prefunding monies, we encourage credit unions to decide on a funding model at the outset because making this choice during initial onboarding will allow you to evolve more seamlessly to a send profile later.
- Identify your digital “experience.” Because a connection to a payments rail is just a connection (no front-end experience included), each credit union will need to develop and integrate a way for your membership to use your new immediate payments service. For receive-only participants, an experience isn’t required. But if your credit union wants to enable businesses or members to send payments, you will need a front-end experience to do so. And there are several front-end experiences out in the marketplace that you are already probably familiar with. Most of the rails’ volume today flows through digital wallet experiences like Venmo, PayPal, Coinbase, Robinhood, and Square.
If you’ve determined immediate payments suit your credit union, you can connect to the RTP network and the FedNow Service through Corporate One.
- As a certified third-party service provider for the RTP network, Corporate One uses an open payment platform to technically connect credit unions to the network so they can receive and send real-time payments without being limited in their payment messages and integration services.
- As a service provider for the FedNow Service, Corporate One enables a FedNow Service connection through a simplified API that can be integrated into various products and/or services so your credit union can meet member expectations and remain competitive by adding instant payments to your suite of solutions.
- Corporate One has teamed up with several core processors nationwide and has already established a connection to the RTP network and FedNow Service. All we need to do is extend that connection to your credit union. We offer accelerated onboarding in as little as 45 days (if we’re already connected to your core) using simplified APIs and a proven three-step implementation process.
For more information about the RTP network or FedNow Service, set up a Discovery Meeting with Corporate One.