Policy Briefing — October 9, 2025
Payment service providers outside the euro area must be ready to receive euro instant credit transfers by 9 October 2025 under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, requiring core banking, fraud, and liquidity upgrades.
Executive briefing: Regulation (EU) 2024/886 amends the SEPA framework to mandate instant euro credit transfers. Payment service providers (PSPs) located in EU member states whose currency is not the euro—such as Sweden, Denmark, Romania, and Bulgaria—must be capable of receiving instant credit transfers in euro by 9 October 2025. Institutions that already offer euro credit transfers must update settlement systems, fraud controls, and customer channels to meet the 10-second delivery requirement with 24/7 availability.
Compliance checkpoints
- Settlement infrastructure. PSPs need access to TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) or equivalent clearing to ensure funds reach beneficiaries in 10 seconds, with failsafe procedures for outages.
- Sanctions and fraud. Article 5b mandates real-time screening and IBAN/name matching before execution, necessitating updated screening engines and customer messaging.
- Fee parity. Pricing for instant transfers cannot exceed that of standard credit transfers, forcing adjustments to fee schedules and product strategies.
Operational build
- Modernise payment gateways and core banking interfaces to support ISO 20022 instant payment messages and always-on processing.
- Deploy fraud analytics capable of real-time behavioural scoring to satisfy sanctions and anti-fraud checks without breaching the 10-second threshold.
- Update liquidity and treasury management to cover weekend and overnight settlement obligations.
Enablement moves
- Conduct customer communication campaigns explaining instant payment availability, limits, and dispute resolution processes.
- Coordinate with national competent authorities for compliance reporting and certification of instant payment readiness.
- Review outsourcing contracts with payment processors to ensure they can deliver guaranteed 24/7 uptime and regulatory compliance.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2024/886 on instant credit transfers in euro
- ECB: Instant payments in euro — what changes with the new regulation?
Zeph Tech supports PSPs with instant payment upgrades—aligning core banking, compliance, and customer experience ahead of the October 2025 deadline.