On Monday 22 May, the Council of the EU adopted its position for future inter-institutional negotiations on the proposal on instant payments (see EUROPE 13152/20). This text, which is part of the completion of the Capital Markets Union (see EUROPE 13183/3), should increase the availability of this type of payment to all bank account holders in the EU and the European Economic Area.
The text foresees that instant transfers will eventually be available outside working hours, within the same country, but also between EU Member States. The charges that would be applied could not exceed those applied to standard transfers.
The Commission would, at the request of the Member States, be required to present a report assessing the development of charges for instant transfers 54 months after the entry into force of the text.
The implementation of these rules would be quicker in the euro area countries than in the other states. Providers in the latter countries would initially have to provide this service during their office hours and then be subject to the same obligations as the euro area countries.
The reason for this distinction, according to the EU Council, is that payment service providers outside the euro area may initially find it difficult to access euro cash outside working hours.
In addition, the provision of instant euro payments from non-euro accounts would be mandatory only during business hours and only for providers already providing standard euro credit transfers.
Payment service providers should also check at least once a day whether customers are on EU sanctions lists. They should also check the match between the bank account number and the payee’s name provided by the payer in order to alert the payer to a potential error or fraud before the payment is made.
See the Council’s position: https://aeur.eu/f/708 (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)