New RTP Operating Rules Take Effect at The Clearing House

New operating rules for The Clearing House’s RTP network take effect Sunday, Oct. 4, adding a framework for One-Leg-Out payments and changing how certain Request for Payment messages tied to Zelle are handled. The update arrives only days after another RTP rulebook revision took effect on Sept. 30, making the Oct. 4 edition the latest set of operating requirements for participants in the U.S. instant-payments network.

The Clearing House lists the Oct. 4 operating rules and a companion summary of changes in its RTP document library. The same library also lists “Requirements for RTP Zelle Messages” with an Oct. 4 effective date. The changes are aimed at extending the rule framework to payment flows with an international endpoint while also refining requirements around RTP messages used to clear and settle eligible Zelle activity.

The most consequential change is the new One-Leg-Out, or OLO, framework. In this structure, the RTP network carries the U.S. leg of a payment in which the payer or payee is outside the United States. The framework does not turn RTP into a foreign-currency settlement system. Rather, it creates rules for the domestic RTP portion of a broader payment flow that begins or ends abroad.

One-Leg-Out rules start with an early-adopter period

The Oct. 4 effective date does not mean every RTP participant must immediately support all One-Leg-Out activity. The change summary establishes an early-adopter period running from Oct. 4, 2026 through March 30, 2028. During that period, the OLO framework applies to participants that choose to opt in. That gives financial institutions time to build, test and govern the operational and compliance processes needed for payment flows connected to an overseas payer or payee.

A broader obligation arrives later. Beginning March 31, 2028, all RTP participants are required to be able to receive inbound OLO payments under the new framework. Receiving-participant requirements for certain On Behalf Of payment flows are also scheduled to take effect on that date. The phased timetable is important because it separates the legal effective date of the framework from the point at which inbound OLO receipt becomes a network-wide requirement.

For banks, the distinction matters operationally. Cross-border-linked instant payments can require additional information to move with the U.S. payment leg, and institutions still have to apply their own sanctions, anti-money-laundering, customer-identification and other compliance controls. The RTP rules govern use of the network; they do not displace the broader legal and regulatory obligations that attach to an international payment relationship.

The OLO framework also fits a wider industry push to make instant-payment infrastructure useful beyond purely domestic person-to-person transfers. RTP already supports commercial, treasury, account-to-account and disbursement use cases. A governed U.S. leg for payments with an international endpoint gives participating institutions another way to incorporate instant settlement into correspondent or cross-border payment services without treating the foreign leg as if it settled on RTP itself.

Zelle-related RTP messages get updated requirements

The second material part of the Oct. 4 change concerns Requests for Payment that are RTP/Zelle messages. The Clearing House’s document library now lists a dedicated set of “Requirements for RTP Zelle Messages” effective the same day as the new operating rules, and the change summary identifies updates to the rules governing these requests.

Zelle and RTP are separate networks. Early Warning Services operates Zelle, while The Clearing House operates RTP. Financial institutions have nevertheless been able to use RTP as an optional route to clear and settle eligible Zelle payments since 2021. That arrangement can pair Zelle’s customer-facing payment experience with RTP’s real-time interbank clearing and settlement.

Request for Payment messaging is part of that broader capability. An RfP does not itself pull funds from an account. It is a message asking the recipient to authorize and send a payment, consistent with RTP’s credit-push model. Updating the rules for requests that are specifically RTP/Zelle messages therefore affects how participating institutions format, process and govern a particular class of messaging rather than changing RTP into a debit network.

The Oct. 4 materials should be read alongside The Clearing House’s technical specifications and other schedules because the operating rules establish the legal and operational framework while detailed message requirements govern implementation. For institutions that route Zelle-related activity over RTP, the practical work is likely to sit with payments operations, compliance teams and technology providers responsible for message construction and processing.

The new rules land on a much larger RTP network

The rule change comes as RTP is handling substantially more traffic and value than it did only a few years ago. The Clearing House reported 371.4 million RTP payments totaling about $1.47 trillion through August 2026. Average daily value over that period was roughly $6.06 billion, compared with about $3.98 billion for full-year 2025. The network had more than 1,357 participants as of August.

RTP operates around the clock and supports individual payments of up to $10 million. Funds are cleared and settled in real time with finality, and the network also carries ISO 20022 messaging that can travel with the payment. Those characteristics make rule changes more than administrative housekeeping: changes can affect how banks configure payment products, screen activity, exchange data and allocate responsibility across direct participants and service providers.

The Oct. 4 edition also includes clarifying, conforming and cleanup changes beyond the OLO and Zelle-related provisions. Those edits are less visible to end users but still matter to institutions that map internal procedures, vendor documentation and controls directly to rulebook sections. Participants therefore have to distinguish between provisions that are effective immediately, provisions that apply only when they opt into the OLO early-adopter framework, and requirements with the later March 31, 2028 compliance date.

For customers, Sunday’s rule change will not necessarily produce a new button or service overnight. The more immediate impact is on the institutions and technology providers that build products on RTP. The OLO framework creates a path for broader cross-border-linked use, while the Zelle provisions tighten the rules around an existing connection between two major U.S. payment services. The next major deadline is March 31, 2028, when inbound OLO receipt becomes a requirement for all RTP participants.