SCT Inst
SEPA's scheme for instant euro payments — the money must reach the payee within ten seconds, around the clock.
The European Payments Council launched SEPA Instant Credit Transfer in November 2017. A regular SEPA transfer can take up to a business day; SCT Inst requires the receiving bank to confirm within ten seconds, Christmas Eve included. Settlement runs mainly through the ECB's TIPS or EBA Clearing's RT1, and the messages are ISO 20022.
For years joining was optional, and plenty of banks either ignored it or charged extra. The Instant Payments Regulation (EU) 2024/886 changed that: euro-area banks have had to receive instant payments since January 2025 and send them since October 2025, at no more than the price of a normal transfer and with Verification of Payee.