Members of the European parliament voted earlier this month to pass a new regulation, provisionally agreed last year, requiring payment providers in the Single Euro Payments Area to enable instant payments, capped at €100,000, in 10 seconds or under. The regulation provides a boon to an area that has struggled to take off. Experts believe banks could play a role in developing it further.
The new rules will enter into force 20 days after they are published in the Official Journal of the EU. Providers located in the euro area will then have nine months to be ready to receive instant credit transfers and 18 months to be ready to send them.
