Almost a year after first being adopted by the European Parliament and Council, the first Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) implementation deadline is fast approaching this week, with payment service providers (PSPs) across the continent soon required to comply with new, speed-enhancing provisions for instant credit transfers.The first IPR implementation deadline arrives 9 Jan for EU PSPsFrom 9 January, PSPs offering credit transfers in euro area member states must also be able to receive instant credit transfers in real-time, with requirements for funds to be credited to the payee’s account within 10 seconds.Additionally, according to the European Central Bank, after 9 January: “Any charges levied by a PSP for sending and receiving instant credit transfers shall not be higher than the charges levied by that PSP in respect of sending and receiving other credit transfers of corresponding type”.Nine months ahead, EU-based PSPs must have the infrastructure ready for sending instant payments by 9 October, supported by a free verification of payee service ensuring transfer accuracy and security.Later deadlines for instant payments to and from non-euro area member states are set throughout 2027.Since the the European Parliament and Council first adopted the IPR on 13 March 2024, various preparations have been underway among PSPs operating in the euro area.These have included Banque Raiffeisen’s implementation of Worldline’s cloud-based instant payments processing solution in May. Worldline’s tech was also selected by Garanti BBVA International (GBI) in November.In unveiling the regulation early last year, then-parliament member Michiel Hoogeveen said the IPR “marks the long-awaited modernisation of payments in the European single market”.“Customers can now say goodbye to the inconvenience of waiting two or three working days to access their money,” Hoogeveen added.
Mer. Gen 8th, 2025
