EU Council and Parliament agree instant payments proposal

Wednesday 8th November, 2023

The Council and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on the instant payments proposal, to improve the availability of instant payment options in euro to consumers and businesses in the EU and in EEA countries.

Under the provisionally agreed rules, payment service providers such as banks, which provide standard credit transfers in euro, will also be required to offer the service of sending and receiving instant payments in euro. The charges that apply (if any) must not be higher than the charges that apply for standard credit transfers.

Instant payments allow people to transfer money within ten seconds at any time of the day, including outside business hours, not only within the same country but also to another EU member state. The provisional agreement takes into consideration particularities of non-euro area entities.

Under the new rules, instant payment providers will need to verify that the beneficiary’s IBAN and name match in order to alert the payer to possible mistakes or fraud before a transaction is made. This requirement will apply to regular transfers too.

The Council and Parliament agreed that the proposed new rules will come into force after a transition period that will be faster in the euro area and longer in the non-euro area.