The U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC), a membership organization devoted to advancing safe, easy-to-use faster payments in the United States, today announced the publication of Operational Considerations for Non-Value Messages, a new guide developed by the FPC Operational Considerations Work Group.
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The guide provides financial institutions with best practices and considerations for implementing and managing non-value messages that support instant payment transactions.
While non-value messages do not directly move funds, they play an essential role in supporting payment operations, managing exceptions, and improving the customer experience. These messages enable important functions such as requesting payments, returning funds, exchanging transaction information, and communicating payment status. As financial institutions expand their instant payment capabilities, effectively managing these messages is critical to maintaining efficient and reliable operations.
“Non-value messages are often treated as secondary to the payment itself, but they can be just as important to the customer experience and the efficiency of the payment system,” said Miriam Sheril, Head of Product – North America at Form3 and Chair of the FPC Operational Considerations Work Group. “When designed and used effectively, they provide the context, visibility and control needed to make real-time payments work better—not just faster. That’s why we felt it was important to give the industry a practical ‘how-to’ guide for using these messages to unlock their value and streamline instant payment processing.”
The guide examines key non-value message types, including Request for Payment, Request for Return of Funds, Request for Information, remittance messages, and administrative system messages. It also addresses operational workflows, fraud and risk management, regulatory compliance, and technology integration. Additionally, the guide highlights differences in messaging capabilities and requirements between the RTP® Network and the FedNow® Service to help institutions navigate implementation considerations across both networks.
“The value of faster payments goes beyond simply moving money faster,” said Dustin Martin, Vice President of Electronic Payment Services at U.S. Bank and Vice Chair of the Operational Considerations Work Group. “Having the right information at the right time can be just as important to successfully supporting the payment. This guide provides practical considerations for how non-value messages can improve visibility, strengthen operational processes, and ultimately create a better payment experience.”
Building on the Work Group's previous guidance for receiving and sending instant payments, this new resource expands its focus to the messages and processes that support transactions throughout the payment lifecycle. By addressing areas such as operational readiness, exception handling, and cross-team coordination, the guide helps financial institutions identify opportunities to strengthen their payment operations and better serve customers.
“Successful instant payments require more than the ability to move funds in seconds. Financial institutions also need the processes, technology, and information to support those transactions from beginning to end,” said Reed Luhtanen, FPC Executive Director and CEO. “This guide reflects the FPC's commitment to providing resources that help the industry address operational challenges and build more effective instant payment services.”
The Operational Considerations for Non-Value Messages guide is available for download from the FPC's Faster Payments Knowledge Center.