Instant payments: payment and e-money institutions join the obligation

The Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) (external site) requires providers that offer euro credit transfers to offer instant ones too: transfers that reach the payee within seconds, at any hour. This event concerns two kinds of non-bank providers, the payment institution (a licensed firm that runs payment accounts and transfers) and the electronic money institution (a licensed firm that issues electronic money (e-money), a stored monetary value) (Regulation (EU) 2024/886 (external site)).

For these institutions the obligations start later than for banks. In the euro area they send and receive instant euro transfers from 9 April 2027 (ECB overview of the regulation (external site)).

Until 2027 these institutions may offer standard euro transfers without instant ones. From 9 April 2027, in the euro area, each payment account that can send or receive a standard euro transfer also handles instant ones (Regulation (EU) 2024/886 (external site)).

Outside the euro area, the same institutions receive from 9 April 2027 and send from 9 July 2027 (ECB overview (external site)).

The other rules follow the service. Instant transfers cost no more than standard ones, payers get verification of payee when sending, and all customers are checked against EU sanctions lists at least once every calendar day (Regulation (EU) 2024/886 (external site)).

As an illustrative example only: an e-money account can receive a euro refund within seconds on a Sunday (Regulation (EU) 2024/886 (external site)).

The rule applies to payment institutions and electronic money institutions that offer euro credit transfers, in and outside the euro area (Regulation (EU) 2024/886 (external site)).

• Payments Operations Analyst: runs instant euro payments and their exceptions on any day of the year.
• Payments Messaging Specialist (SWIFT): connects the institution to an instant payment system, directly or through a bank.
• Sanctions Analyst: runs the daily check of all customers against EU sanctions lists.
• Treasury Operations Analyst: funds the settlement position for payments at any hour.
• Cash Management Product Manager: adds instant transfers to the account offer at the same price as standard ones.
• Merchant Acquiring Sales Executive: explains instant euro receipts to merchant clients of the institution.

The regulation entered into force on 8 April 2024 (consolidated text of Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 (external site)). The dates below are set in the legal text and are confirmed.

• 9 April 2025: national laws let payment and electronic money institutions take part in designated payment systems.
• 9 April 2027: send and receive in the euro area; receive outside the euro area.
• 9 July 2027: send outside the euro area.

The first date comes from the amendment to the Settlement Finality Directive in the same regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/886 (external site)).

Under the Settlement Finality Directive of 1998, payment and electronic money institutions could not take part directly in designated payment systems, and their access went through a bank (Regulation (EU) 2024/886 (external site)). The 2024 regulation amends that directive and the second Payment Services Directive to open direct access.

The regulation then sets later instant payment dates for these institutions than for banks (ECB overview (external site)).