Using the new SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme, developed by the European Payments Council (EPC) within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), it is now possible to make and receive a bank transfer in under ten seconds, at any time of day and on any day of the year, including weekends and public holidays, in eight-member states of the EU.
From this Tuesday 21 November, nearly 600 payment service providers (PSPs) in Austria, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Spain are offering payment solutions based on this system, allowing immediate access to funds.
However, a number of conditions have to be met: - the transactions must be in euro; - payments must be transferred between two PSPs participating in the system; - the amount of the transactions must be less than €15,000.
Although the system is currently only available in eight countries, it is to be extended to the 34-member countries of the SEPA zone. PSPs in Belgium, Finland, Portugal, Sweden and Malta are expected to join the programme in 2018 and 2019. As the system is optional and not a requirement enforced by a European regulation, each PSP is free to decide whether to join or not. “This is only the beginning of the European journey towards instant payments”, the EPC concluded in a press release. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)