Instant Payments Regulation
More info
- Type
- EU regulation (EU) 2024/886
- Released
- 2024
- Spec
- EUR-Lex
The 2024 EU regulation that made instant euro payments mandatory, priced no higher than ordinary transfers and checked with Verification of Payee.
SCT Inst had existed since 2017, but joining was optional and many banks charged extra or simply didn't bother. Regulation (EU) 2024/886, which amends the old SEPA Regulation, removed the choice. Banks in the euro area have had to receive instant payments since January 2025 and send them since October 2025, at no more than the price of a regular transfer. Member states outside the euro area, such as Sweden, have until 2027 for their euro accounts.
Two details make it more than a speed rule. Every payment must be preceded by Verification of Payee, so a swapped IBAN gets caught. And sanctions screening moves from each individual transaction to a daily check of the bank's own customers, because ten seconds leaves no time for a manual review.