SEPA Instant Credit Transfer

The SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme makes it possible to transfer funds to a payee’s payment account within seconds – unlike ordinary credit transfers, which take up to one business day to complete. Instant credit transfers are not only available on bank business days but year-round, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. From October 2025, banks must be able to both send and receive instant payments.

Since instant payments are settled immediately, they are a convenient way to make payments between private individuals (peer-to-peer (P2P) payments), e.g. when shopping at flea markets or when splitting bills. They can also be used in all situations where card payments are not accepted – provided that the payee can immediately check their account balance. Other use cases of instant credit transfers are listed below.

When can you use instant payments?

  • Urgent payments or payments where instant settlement is desired, e.g. when:
    • splitting bills;
    • buying goods from other persons, either online or face-to-face via mobile phone (e.g. second-hand car, furniture, antiques; at flea markets, in taxis, in restaurants), or buying goods at auctions;
    • making purchases of or advance payments for high-value goods (e.g. apartment, car) which requires an immediate transfer and/or confirmation of the transfer of funds to the payee;
    • paying service providers (e.g. plumber, electrician or cleaner) on the spot upon completion of work (e.g. at home);
    • paying taxes, fines or penalties;
    • settling bills to avoid late payment fees;
    • paying salaries;
    • ensuring rapid payout of insurance and welfare benefits to individuals in immediate need;
    • completing purchases that exceed the maximum transaction limit for cash or card payments;
    • donating funds to disaster relief organizations; and
    • gifting money.
  • Emergency transfers or payments where instant settlement is required, e.g. when:
    • transferring emergency funds for immediate use (which is especially useful when the payee does not live in the same area as the payer).
  • Business transactions, e.g. when:
    • making high-value intercompany transfer payments, in particular those driven by short-term treasury needs; and
    • transferring funds between businesses to substitute traditional bank transfers for the purchase of high-value goods or assets.

What is the legal and technical framework for instant payments?

As of January 9, 2025, the relevant EU regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/886) requires all payment service providers and banks in the European Union to establish the technical infrastructure necessary to receive instant payments. Moreover, payment service providers and banks need to ensure that the charges levied for instant credit transfers are not higher than those levied for standard credit transfers. By October 9, 2025, payment service providers and banks must also have the technical capability to send instant payments and to verify the payee of an instant credit transfer. The Verification of Payee (VoP) service, also known as the IBAN-name check, serves to ensure that the name of a transfer beneficiary matches the provided IBAN.

To continue the SEPA vision and avoid fragmentation of the instant payment solutions market, the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB), a body composed of high-level European financial market participants, called for the adoption of common standards for instant payments. This has led the European Payments Council (EPC) to develop a dedicated scheme for SEPA instant payments based on the SEPA Credit Transfer scheme. The rulebook for the new SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme was published in November 2016 and entered into effect one year later, in November 2017. It has been available to banks ever since. The Eurosystem and payment infrastructure providers (e.g. clearing houses) offer clearing and settlement solutions to facilitate banks’ handling of instant payments.