CaixaBank and BBVA have processed the first Requests to Pay in Europe in a pilot trial, marking a new milestone in the expansion of the region’s payments ecosystem.

Request to Pay (RTP) is a 24/7 request for payments service where the payee can ask for payment through an instant digital transaction. As soon as the payer accepts the request, the instant payment is sent, received in the initiator’s account, and ready to spend immediately. 

Starting in April, the banks said the pilot project has involved practical testing of bank-to-bank payment requests to ensure that all processes work correctly before being offered to end-customers.

On Wednesday, the two banks confirmed that the first transactions had been accepted and credited via instant payment, with Iberpay, a specialist in Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) Requests to Pay implementation, handling the processing.

The SEPA Request to Pay (SRTP) scheme was developed in 2020 by the European Payments Council (EPC) to standardise and promote RTP payment requests across Europe.

A new version of the regulation was published in November 2024, while implementation guidelines were published in April 2025.

Commenting on the SRTP scheme, BBVA said: “Its launch represents the latest step in the modernisation of payment solutions by a European payments industry committed to digitalisation and innovation.”

The two banks added the new payment system aims to transform the way citizens and businesses manage their payments in Europe, to boost a secure and efficient digital alternative for B2B invoicing, such as the payment of taxes and public charges, or the replacement of other less efficient collection products, such as non-recurring direct debits.

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