Instant Payments Regulation EU

European Union

2024

Payments

Overview

The EU Instant Payments Regulation was adopted in 2024 to mandate the widespread availability of instant credit transfers in euros across the European Union. It builds upon the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme but makes participation compulsory for banks and payment service providers offering standard euro credit transfers.

The regulation aims to ensure that banks, payment institutions, fintech platforms, and electronic money institutions can both send and receive euro-denominated instant payments 24/7, with funds reaching recipients within 10 seconds. It also introduces safeguards for fraud prevention, including mandatory IBAN-name checks.

Key Obligations

All PSPs offering euro credit transfers must also offer instant credit transfers in euros
Transactions must be processed within 10 seconds at any time, including weekends and holidays
IBAN-name matching is required to detect and prevent fraud

Charges for instant payments must not exceed those of standard credit transfers
Payment institutions must screen transactions against EU sanctions lists in real time