2023-11-15 18:00:43
Instant transfers: an agreement reached in the European Parliament
Until now, instant transfers, although technologically possible since 2017, only represented 11 % transactions in early 2022. Their high cost and lack of identity verification were the main obstacles. However, these rapid transactions offer concrete solutions to businesses’ cash flow problems and allow individuals to avoid overdrafts by paying their bills instantly. The European Commission finally reached an agreement, made official on November 7, 2023. Instant transfers will soon be accessible to all European banks. This measure is planned for all countries of the European Economic Area (EEA), i.e. the 27 countries of the European Union plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. And the big news is that their fees will not exceed those of traditional transfers. In other words, instant payments will be for the majority of them… free!
What will this change for us, consumers? Well, just like for businesses, we will be able to receive transfers in less than 10 seconds from the 30 EEA member countries! All it takes is a simple verification between the account number and the name of the beneficiary to validate the transaction.
A measure made obligatory for all banks
Europe is far from wanting to stop there; it wants to create the most dynamic payments space possible. A major challenge for banks which will have to ensure banking secrecy and compliance with the GDPR. The text is scheduled to enter into force in mid-2024. To force them to do so, the agreement sealed within the European Parliament provides for fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover in the event of non-compliance.
Eurozone banks will only have 9 months to comply following the new European regulations come into force. Those from countries outside the euro zone will have a deadline set at 33 months. Other online payment services, such as PayPal, will also be included in the obligation and will have 36 months following the entry into force of the text to comply with the new European regulations.
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#Paid #instant #transfers
