Visa Direct request to pay

Visa Direct request to pay is a secure messaging framework. It is an overlay on top of existing payment infrastructure allowing our clients to provide a new flexible way to request and settle funds.

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Getting Started with Visa Direct request to pay

About Visa Direct request to pay

Visa Direct request to pay capabilities can enable a variety of end-to-end use cases with added value services for your clients. There are many possible flows depending on the organization and the use case or jurisdiction selected. The API set provides flexibility and options to use Visa's APIs to build use cases and enable features depending on your requirements.

The ease of integration and the simplified API set mean that any Visa client can benefit from this highly customizable service. It caters for a variety of use cases and its structure allows you to focus developments on the elements that matter as you build or extend your integration.

 

Key Terms

KEY TERMS DEFINITIONS
Participant/Agent/Service Provider
  • The entities that participate in Visa Direct request to pay, e.g. banks

Payee/Creditor
  • The individual or business receives the payment. They are the party who sends the request for payment to the payer and then receives the funds once the payer fulfils the request.

Payer/Debtor
  • The individual or entity who initiates the payment process and is responsible for providing the funds

Payment Network/rails
  • Refers to the underlying systems and processes that facilitate money movement from the payer to the payee, e.g., Visa Direct OCT.

 

Features Overview

A request to pay is a transaction where a payee or payee agent initiate a request with the intention of receiving payment from the payer. The request for payment will contain information such as amount requested, payment options, and the due date for payment. Depending on the use case, the request may also contain other reference information required for effective reconciliation purposes. On receipt of the request through their agent, the payer can accept or decline the request with below options:

  •  Pay in full 
  •  Decline

The payer's response is then processed through the Visa Direct request to pay and passed to the payee via their agent.

The payment is rail agnostic and, depending on use case and configuration, can be processed by any payment network common to payee and payer. A status update of the request is received by Visa at this stage and is relayed to the payee.

Features in Detail

   Life Cycle Management            KEY TERMS
      DEFINITIONS
 Initiate R2P                             The payee bank can initiate a request to pay transaction using Initiate request to pay API.
 Amend R2P   The Amend request to pay API allows the payee to modify certain aspects of the payment request such as the amount or due date of the payment.
 Retrieve/Multiple Retrieve R2P             The payee and payer can view details of request along with status throughout the journey by using these APIs.
 Confirm R2P   The payer can confirm the acceptance /rejection of the request to pay via payer bank using Confirm request to pay API.
 Cancel R2P    Using the Cancel request to pay API, a payee can void a pending request. A cancelation notification is sent to the payer via their agent.

 Risk Management Controls: There are a   range of   network level controls that are   provided within the Visa Direct request to pay environment to help reduce risk and provide a safe environment for service providers,  end users and Visa.

 Consumer Controls :  To help protect the payer, Visa Direct request to pay allows them to block a payee from sending them any more requests or to unblock a previously blocked payee if needed.
Internal Risk Controls : The Visa Direct request to pay includes a number of internal controls configured to help reduce risk exposure for all participants and help safeguard payers from fraudulent activities, spamming & harassment.

Note: Additional information is available in Functional guide.

The Life Cycle of a request to pay

The following are the states supported by Visa Direct request to pay.

Status Description
Pending (PDNG)                       An Initiate R2P call from a Creditor Agent that is successfully processed will result in the request to pay transaction being created in a Pending state. While in a Pending state, the Amend R2P API can be used to change certain details such as the amount requested or due date. It will remain in a Pending state until either one of the Creditor or Debtor Agent uses an API to progress the request to pay to a terminal state or, alternatively, the request to pay reaches the due date and expires.
Settled (ACSC)

Following full payment and a successful Confirm R2P call from the Debtor Agent, the request to pay is considered settled and, as a terminal state, no further action possible
Rejected (RJCT)

 Should the debtor not wish to accept the request they can reject it using the Confirm R2P API. Once rejected, as a terminal state, no further action is possible
Cancelled (CNCL)    Should the creditor Cancel the request to pay via Cancel R2P call, as a terminal state, no further action is possible. A request to pay can only be cancelled from a Pending state.
Expired (EXPD)

 Once expired, a request to pay will remain in expired state.

Once the request to pay is in a terminal status, no further changes to it are possible including accepting or rejecting the request.

Prerequisites

Participants wanting to enroll for Visa Direct request to pay will have to register once and complete onboarding for request to pay product. Registration consists of creation of a basic profile. Onboarding is Visa Direct request to pay specific client configuration. This process is supported by Visa Client Services.