Plaid Launches Request for Payment

Plaid now enables instant pay-ins as well as instant payouts via its flexible multi-rail payment platform, Plaid Transfer.

The financial data network has added support for real-time pay-ins via Request for Payment (RfP) on the RTP® Network to Instant Payments on Plaid Transfer, it said in a Monday (June 9) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

RfP enables businesses to request a payment from a customer in real time, according to the release.

Powered in collaboration with Cross River, Plaid’s RfP offers instant confirmation and final settlement; seamless bank authorization via Plaid Link; built-in account verification, balance checks and bank eligibility; and a single integration to intelligently route payments across available rails, according to the release.

“For merchants, instant bank payments mean getting paid faster, reducing payment failures and eliminating the operational drag of reconciling delayed or returned ACH transactions, while also delivering a better customer experience,” the release said. “It’s a win-win for both sides of the transaction.”

One of the first adopters of Plaid’s RfP capabilities is online car retailer Carvana, which is using it to streamline vehicle purchases, according to the release.

“With real-time payments through Plaid and Cross River, we’re removing one more layer of friction, helping customers move through the process even faster and, in some cases, even schedule same-day delivery,” Matt Dundas, vice president of finance at Carvana, said in the release.

RfP enables faster, more secure and cost-effective bill payments, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and The Clearing House collaboration, “The Real-Time Payments World Map.”

The report found that RfP offers consumers added transparency and convenience, while providing billers with accelerated cash flow and payment validation without exposing sensitive bank data.

When Plaid added instant payouts to Plaid Transfer in April 2023, the company said it was doing so to meet consumers’ demands for faster payments.

“At Plaid, we believe that you should be able to access your money when and where you need it,” the company said at the time in a press release. “More importantly, the experience should not come at a steep cost. That is why we built Instant Payouts — a real-time, multi-rail payout solution to send funds instantly, 24/7.”