Put Faster Payments (FPS) back in order

THE DRILL AS TEXT

1. In Faster Payments (FPS), what happens first, and what follows?
   • Riya asks Bank Alfa to pay Arjun — On a Sunday evening Riya opens her banking app and instructs Bank Alfa to send GBP 500.00 to Arjun at Nordbank. Faster Payments runs 24/7, so time of day does not matter. Nothing has moved yet — this is only a request.
   • Bank Alfa checks the payment in real time — Bank Alfa validates the account details, confirms Riya has the funds, screens for sanctions, and checks the amount against the FPS single-payment limit and its own limits — all in seconds, because the customer is waiting.
   • Bank Alfa debits Riya — Bank Alfa reduces Riya's balance by GBP 500.00 on its own books. The money has left Riya, but Arjun does not have it yet and the banks have not settled — those are separate steps.
   • The payment goes through Faster Payments in real time — Bank Alfa submits the payment to the central Faster Payments infrastructure, which routes it to Nordbank immediately. This real-time clearing leg carries the instruction — it does not move central bank money.
   • Nordbank receives the payment within seconds — Faster Payments forwards the payment to Nordbank in real time and expects a fast answer. The message tells Nordbank exactly whose account to credit and with how much.
   • Nordbank validates and credits Arjun within seconds — Nordbank checks the beneficiary account, screens the payment, and credits Arjun on its own books — all within seconds of Riya pressing send. Nordbank now owes this money and will recover it from Bank Alfa at settlement.