Overview
- From 9 October 2025, euro‑area institutions must let customers send SEPA instant payments within about 10 seconds, and those transfers cannot cost more than standard SEPA payments.
- Verification of Payee is now required before SEPA euro transfers, returning a traffic‑light match result within seconds and remaining free for payers and payees.
- Proceeding after a yellow or red warning shifts liability to the sender, and consumer bodies note that instant transfers are hard to reverse, citing rulings that banks need not refund authorized real‑time payments.
- The checks apply to euro payments within the EEA, with the UK and Switzerland outside the regime; broader EU‑wide and multi‑currency extensions are slated by July 2027.
- Pre‑existing standing orders generally continue without rechecks, large regular payers can opt out for certain flows, and early switch‑ons at some banks triggered confusion as AGB consent demands drew consumer pushback.