---
title: Payment types
slug: concepts/payments/instant-payments/payment-types
description: To send or receive instant payments information about credit transfers and RfPs: funds move in real time via RTP®, FedNow®, or CRNow from debtor to creditor.
docTags: 
createdAt: 2025-04-20T07:24:29.180Z
---

## Instant Payment types

To send or receive instant payments you need to know the following basic information about credit transfers and  [request for payments](docId\:oJcyKDvHGpjflu3152-iM) (RfP) as well as the roles of the [participants](docId\:AL5W3U23-A4yt3JppL3sZ).

## Credit transfer

Instant Payments transfer funds in real time over networks like RTP®, FedNow®, or CRNow. This uses the [originate a credit transfer](docId:727H0GkQerqHAFKEy67Uu) API.

- **Message Type**: pacs.008
- **Purpose**: Sends funds from the *debtor *(account initiating payment) to the *creditor *(account receiving payment).
- **Debtor FI**: The financial institution sending the payment.
- **Creditor FI**: The financial institution receiving the payment.
- **Type of Payment**: Push payment (initiated by the sender).

**Key notes**

- Credit transfers are one-way payments initiated by the sender.
- Cross River enforces a daily send limit for Instant Payments per partner. 
- CRNow facilitates instant credit transfers within Cross River’s network, providing faster internal partner payments.

Refer to the diagram below for the end-to-end credit transfer process, showing interactions between the debtor, creditor, their financial institutions, and the instant payments network.

![Instant payments basic flow](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/Qt8sSSvJnFaDir3Z-GD2j-3kBk8P2cJO8x4oqcNZn50-20250126-080001.png)

## Request for payment

Request for Payment (RfP) enables authorized pull payments by requesting funds from the debtor. This uses the [originate a payment request](docId\:sXhwvqNXmi_6A8hyNyUPF)  API.

- **Message Type**: pain.013
- **Purpose**: Allows the creditor to send a payment request to the debtor, who must **authorize the payment**.
- **Debtor Role**: Reviews and approves the request before the transfer occurs.
- **Type of Payment**: Pre-authorized pull payment (initiated by the receiver through a request).

**Key notes**

- RfPs offer a way to collect payments securely and transparently.
- Instant Payments networks do not support automatic pull payments. Payments only proceed after debtor authorization.



Refer to the diagram below that shows the flow from the initial request by the creditor to debtor authorization and final payment execution.

![Request for Payment flow](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/Qt8sSSvJnFaDir3Z-GD2j-tVL8H27rS0MLz4GMnD8jL-20250126-075814.png)