Overview

• From October 9, all EU and EEA banks must let customers send instant credit transfers across all channels, available 24/7 and generally settling within seconds up to €100,000 per payment.
• Providers can no longer charge more for instant transfers than for ordinary ones, making the fast option a no‑extra‑cost service for customers.
• Banks must run Verification of Payee on instant and ordinary transfers, returning exact, partial, or non‑verifiable matches so the payer can proceed or cancel after the warning.
• Instant transfers are effectively irrevocable and refunds typically require the beneficiary’s consent, with Bank of Italy data showing a higher fraud incidence for instant transfers (0.057%) than ordinary ones (0.0015%).
• Institutions are implementing personalized ceilings for instant payments based on customer profiles, with limits subject to change as operations are fine‑tuned.