Real-Time Payments Fallback Mechanism Guide

Last updated: November 7, 2026

Overview

Astra sends real-time payments over one of two networks: the RTP network, operated by The Clearing House, or the FedNow Service, operated by the Federal Reserve. Astra selects the routine's real time network automatically based on the destination routing number.

This article explains how Astra selects a network and what happens when a network is unavailable or a payment is rejected.

How Astra selects a network

When you create a real-time Routine, Astra checks which networks the destination routing number participates in and whether the receiving bank is online on each. Astra then selects a network as shown on the chart below.

Receiving bank is available on

Network Astra uses

Both RTP and FedNow

RTP

RTP only

RTP

FedNow only

FedNow

Neither network

None. The Transfer fails.

When the receiving bank is available on both networks, Astra always uses RTP.

When a network or bank is unavailable

If the receiving bank is offline on one network, Astra sends the payment over the other network, as long as the bank is online there. For example, if the destination routing number participates in both networks and the receiving bank is offline on RTP, Astra sends the payment over FedNow.

If the receiving bank is offline on every network it participates in, the payment fails. The Transfer status changes to failed and Astra sends a transfer_updated webhook. The Transfer shows a failure reason in the Astra dashboard such as: Destination bank is not currently accepting RTP instant transfers.

For more information on how to find a transfer in the Astra dashboard, please see 📄 How to search for a Transfer in the Astra Dashboard.

Astra checks availability only before it sends a payment. If the receiving bank appears online but doesn't respond after Astra sends the payment, Astra doesn't switch networks. For details, see the next section.

When a payment is rejected or times out

After Astra sends a payment, the network or the receiving bank can still reject it. For example, the receiving bank might reject an amount that exceeds its own limit for incoming real-time payments. These limits vary by bank and can be lower than the network maximum.

Astra doesn't retry a rejected payment on the other network or send it by ACH. The same applies when a payment times out on the network. Astra never retries automatically, because a retry could result in a duplicate payment.

To send the payment again, create a new Routine after confirming the first transfer has failed.

Recommendations

  • Check eligibility before you send. Use the Get Account Routing Number Instant Payment Eligibility endpoint to see which networks a routing number participates in. The response includes a record for each network, with its online_status (SignedOn or SignedOff) and whether it can receive payments (receive_enabled). If no network shows the receiving bank as SignedOn, the payment will fail.

  • Listen for Transfer webhooks. When you receive a transfer_updated webhook, get the Transfer and check its status and failure_reason. For details, see A Guide to Routine & Transfer Statuses & Webhooks.