In March 2024, the EPC adopted Regulation 2024/886, the objective of which is to accelerate the deployment of Instant Payment in the European Union by requiring banks to process what is commonly known as Instant Payment (IP) before the following deadlines:
From January 9, 2025, banks are required to accept crediting their customers' accounts via this payment method;
· From October 9, 2025, banks are required to offer the IP service to their customers.
What instantaneity?
The claim that an instant transfer takes 10 seconds is misleading. In reality, this refers to the maximum processing time between the two banking systems involved. Therefore, if you initiate your transfer on your online banking platform, the timer won't start until your payment arrives at your bank.
Finally, if the request cannot be completed within the allotted time, you will receive a negative processing notification within 30 seconds of submission. You can either try again or use another channel, preferably a standard SEPA transfer.
What are the technical requirements?
Instant transfer can be configured using the SCT format pain.001.001.03 in which the value INST will be specified in the Local Instrument tag.
Since this tag can be mentioned at the batch or transaction level, it is best to think about the usage methods (exclusively single, by batch, a mix of both) of this payment method before setting it up.
Why does instant transfer encourage migration to pain.001.001.09?
The latest version of the SCT format validated by banks is pain.001.001.09. For our purposes in this article, this V9 includes all the tags from pain.001.001.03 but adds a detail that was previously absent in V3: the time of execution of the processing.
This new feature allows you to guarantee your recipient will be paid at a specific time (today, tomorrow, or on the date you specify). This can reassure them and strengthen your relationship.
Finally, thanks to this feature (and if you use the NEOFI app), you can schedule your account funding and payment campaigns to be launched just minutes apart. This automation allows you to manage your cash flow more efficiently and free up time, since these tasks are easily configurable within NEOFI.
What are the gains?
By using instant bank transfers with the new SCT V9 format, you bring peace of mind not only to your treasury work but also to your relationships with suppliers and employees. Indeed, there is no longer any possible confusion between the announced date and the actual date of the transfer. Finally, you no longer need checks or credit cards, and everything is traceable!
What side effects?
VoP (Verification of Payee) from October 9, 2025 .
