Cross River Bank, a technology infrastructure provider known for its embedded finance and real-time payments solutions, has partnered with Plaid, a data network and payments platform enabling open finance, to launch a new Request for Payment (RfP) solution.
The collaboration is aimed at transforming inbound money movement across the RTP® network. While instant outbound payments have gained widespread traction, incoming transfers have often lagged due to legacy systems like ACH and wires, according to FF News.
By introducing RfP functionality, the partnership intends to balance the equation — enabling real-time, seamless pay-ins with enhanced control and reduced friction.
Cross River, a pioneer in instant payments and an early RTP® network adopter, processes over $1bn in real-time monthly disbursements through RTP® and FedNow combined.
The bank has now extended its payment suite with RfP, which lets businesses send secure, digital payment requests. This allows payers to authorise and transfer funds instantly, significantly accelerating the customer payment experience.
Plaid, on the other hand, facilitates safe and seamless connections between financial applications and users’ bank accounts.
Through this partnership, Plaid becomes the first to activate Cross River’s RfP feature via its Plaid Transfer platform. The integration will support real-time pay-ins for Carvana customers, enabling car buyers to instantly fund purchases without the delay and complexity of traditional bank transfers.
This new capability is built on Cross River’s COS platform, its proprietary API-based banking infrastructure.
Security, transparency, and compliance are core to the offering, with each RfP presented for explicit authorisation by the receiving institution — ensuring full control over every transaction and enhancing trust.
Cross River said the move reinforces its broader mission to modernise financial services. With RfP, businesses can reduce operational overhead from delayed deposits, instantly fund digital wallets, and offer smoother payment experiences to their customers.
“The current reality of money movement is imbalanced — payments go out in seconds, but pay-ins often take a day or more,” Cross River EVP and head of fintech banking Adam Goller said, “RfP is a smarter, more flexible way to receive incoming funds. It gives our partners greater control over timing, real-time visibility into each transaction, and reduces the need for overfunding or constant balance monitoring — all while delivering a better experience for the end user.”
“Instant payment rails unlock huge value for businesses and end customers by reducing friction, accelerating funding, and boosting conversion,” Plaid global head of payments and financial management Brian Dammeir said, “Through our partnership with Cross River, Plaid Transfer now offers instant pay-ins, instant payouts and Same Day ACH, as part of a full solution with best-in-class account linking and optimised conversion, so customers can tailor bank payments across their business.”
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