diff --git a/bitcoin/src/p2p/message.rs b/bitcoin/src/p2p/message.rs
index 0b2cf3cdc..239ba91c8 100644
--- a/bitcoin/src/p2p/message.rs
+++ b/bitcoin/src/p2p/message.rs
@@ -310,6 +310,11 @@ impl RawNetworkMessage {
         Self { magic, payload, payload_len, checksum }
     }
 
+    /// Consumes the [RawNetworkMessage] instance and returns the inner payload.
+    pub fn into_payload(self) -> NetworkMessage {
+        self.payload
+    }
+
     /// The actual message data
     pub fn payload(&self) -> &NetworkMessage { &self.payload }