Domestic
PAYMENTS SIGNAL · REFERENCE CARDA FedNow instant payment (US, 24/7/365)
Riya sends USD 300.00 to Arjun on a holiday and he can spend it within seconds — the Federal Reserve settles the payment on its own, immediately and finally, in central-bank money.
Actors
- Riya (customer)customer
- Bank Alfa (sending bank)bank
- FedNow (Federal Reserve)infrastructure
- Nordbank (receiving bank)bank
- Arjun (customer)customer
Messages
No standard message — a book / internal transfer.
The sequence
| # | Step | Route | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Instruction — Riya instructs an instant payment | Riya → Bank Alfa | message |
| 2 | Check funds & screen — Bank Alfa checks its master account and screens | Bank Alfa | internal |
| 3 | Payment message — Bank Alfa submits the payment to FedNow | Bank Alfa → FedNow | message |
| 4 | Confirm credit — Nordbank confirms it can credit Arjun | Nordbank → FedNow | message |
| 5 | Gross settlement — FedNow settles the payment individually and finally | Bank Alfa → Nordbank | settlement |
| 6 | Debit Riya — Bank Alfa debits Riya's account | Bank Alfa | posting |
| 7 | Credit Arjun — Arjun is credited and can spend at once | Nordbank | posting |
Exception rails
| Rail | Trigger | Where the money ends up | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receiver rejects: nothing settles | Nordbank cannot apply the payment — for example Arjun's account has been closed — so it answers negatively before any settlement takes place. | Never left Riya's account — no settlement took place, so there is nothing to reverse. · No settlement occurred; the master accounts were never touched because the answer was negative. | Nordbank — Riya checks Arjun's account details against the reason code and can try again. |
| Not enough prefunded in the master account | At the moment the payment arrives, Bank Alfa's Federal Reserve master account does not hold enough prefunded balance to cover USD 300.00. | Never left Riya's account — the payment was rejected before any debit or settlement. · No settlement; prefunding in the master account is what removes credit risk, and here it was not in place. | Bank Alfa — Bank Alfa keeps its master account funded 24/7 and Riya's payment can be retried once cover is restored. |