Instant credit transfer, from 9 October no more limits on orders but watch out for missteps

The time has come for the new instant credit transfer rules to come into force. That is, the possibility of making the instant credit transfer and not just receiving it, and the so-called beneficiary verification. Since 9 January, banks and other authorised operators have had to allow customers to receive the instant credit transfer, while with phase 2 throughout Europe from 9 October 2025, banks will also have to allow the issuing of instant euro payments from all payment accounts and via all device channels. That is, home banking, mobile banking, ATMs, self-service terminals, branches or telephone.

As for the obligation to verify the beneficiary, this is a decisive step towards making more secure an operation that in itself has the characteristic of being irreversible. The instantaneous credit transfer, in fact, if it offers the advantage of immediacy of operation (it is executed in 10 seconds), on the other hand, if something goes wrong, it does not allow for downstream intervention, perhaps cancelling the operation, as for an ordinary credit transfer, revocable within the following 24 hours.

Payee verification allows the originator to be safeguarded because it makes a payment more secure. In practice, customers will have at their disposal - in all device channels where credit transfers can be made - a service to verify whether or not the payee's payment account, uniquely identified by the Iban code, matches the payee to whom the funds are destined. This service will be free of charge and PSPs (Payment Service Providers, i.e. banks, post offices, payment institutions and other authorised entities) will have to offer it to consumers on a compulsory basis, while businesses and micro-enterprises will be able to opt out.

The advantage is that within the Single Euro Payments Area, payments can be made in less than 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with immediate availability of funds, perhaps to pay a maturing bill, quickly top up a prepaid card, transfer money immediately to a family member, or buy second-hand goods from a private individual in a traceable manner. There are no limits on amounts and it is the customer who sets them according to his or her needs, even changing those set by the bank with the aim of preserving the security of transactions.

Before the 10 seconds elapse, the system will check whether the data entered by the payer (Iban and payee name) match those registered with the payee's PSP. When an instant credit transfer is made, the payer's bank's system will send a verification request to the payee's PSP. The data check is then triggered: the payee's PSP will check whether the payee's Iban and name match the data registered in its system.