The agreement

As part of this agreement, the availability of instant payment options made in Euro will be more readily available to both consumers and businesses within the EU and EEA. While this will no doubt improve the autonomy of the financial sector in Europe, it will also help to reduce excessive reliance on the financial institutions and infrastructures from third- countries. As such, Europeans will benefit from this additional rapid cash flow and the prospect of new, innovative services which evidently result. It is important to note that this new agreement, established by the European Parliament and the Council, is not optional for financial institutions. Banks will be required to offer instant payments for their customers, and according to the newly put forth regulations, the costs associated with making such rapid transfers may not exceed those of standard transfers, which in Europe are generally free.

Instant Payments

While Instant Payments have been garnering more attention internationally, especially in the recent period, instant payments themselves are not necessarily new. They are in fact based on the European Payments Council’s SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme (SCT Inst), which first launched in November 2017. Within the EU, all instant EURO transfers by default adhere to the principles outlined in this protocol. With instant payments set to grow exponentially, it’s vital that we understand the current and future state of the market in Europe.

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Olivier Sputael

Instant Payments Product Manager

Sopra Banking Software