EU adopts regulation on instant payment

BRUSSELS -- The Council of the European Union (EU) approved a regulation that will allow payments in euro-denominated currency to be made within 10 seconds in the European Union, according to a press release on Monday.

People are able to transfer money at any time of the day, even outside of business hours, and both within their own country and towards another EU country, said the council.

Banks and other payment service providers which allow standard credit transfer in euro will have to offer the same instant payment service, and charges linked to the service cannot exceed those of standard credit transfer.

Under the new regulation, Payment and E-Money Institutions (PIEMIs) will be granted access to payment systems, and will have to offer the service of sending and receiving instant credit transfer. They will benefit from a transitional period and safeguards will be put in place to avoid risks.

Instant payment providers will be responsible for the verification of the beneficiary's international bank account number (IBAN) and name before the transaction is made, in order to protect the payer from mistakes or fraud.

The regulation is aimed at improving the strategic autonomy of the European economic and financial sector by reducing excessive reliance on any third country financial institutions and infrastructures, said the council in the release.

It comes in the context of the completion of the capital markets union, which aims to create a single market for capital across the EU.

The new rule will take into account specificities of non-euro entities, and will go through an adjustment period before coming into force. The transition period will be longer in non-euro countries.