Overview

• From 9 October, banks and payment service providers across the EU and EEA must enable all accounts to send and receive instant credit transfers on all channels, operating 24/7 with execution in about 10 seconds.
• Providers must perform Verification of Payee before execution, displaying whether the beneficiary name matches the IBAN exactly, partially, not at all, or cannot be verified, and payments may be blocked when details do not align.
• The Italian Banking Association cautions that early checks may often produce partial matches or non-verifications as systems stabilize during the rollout.
• Instant transfers are generally irrevocable once executed, and Bank of Italy figures show a higher fraud incidence than ordinary transfers (0.057% versus 0.0015%), prompting consumer warnings from advocacy groups.
• Surcharges are banned, so fees cannot exceed those for standard transfers; a €100,000 ceiling applies per transaction, and banks can apply personalized instant-payment limits based on customer risk profiles.