The Commission today approved a legislative proposal to make direct payments in euros available to all citizens and businesses that have them. banking account in EU and EEA countries.

The Commission’s proposal aims to remove barriers to direct payments, making them affordable, secure and seamless in the EU.

Instant payments allow you to transfer money at any time of the day within ten seconds. This is much faster than traditional credit transfers, which are only accepted by payment service providers during business hours and only reach the beneficiary’s account the next business day, which can take up to three calendar days. At the beginning of 2022, only 11% of all euro credit transfers in the EU were direct, according to the Commission.

The Commission emphasizes that instant payments significantly increase the speed and convenience for consumers, for example, when paying bills or obtaining urgent transport (for example, in case of a medical emergency). In addition, they help to significantly improve cash flow and reduce the costs of businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses, including retailers. They free up money currently locked in the financial system (almost 200 billion euros every day) that can be used for consumption or investment.

Among other things, the Commission wants to make direct euro payments affordable by requiring payment service providers to ensure that the price charged for direct euro payments does not exceed the price charged for traditional indirect euro credit transfers.

Valdis Dombrovskis, vice-president of the Economics Commission that works for the people, said: “Direct payments are quickly becoming the norm in many countries. They must be made available to everyone and in Europe so that we can remain globally competitive and make the most of the innovative opportunities offered by the digital age.”

Financial Services Commissioner Maired McGuinness said: “The transition from ‘next day’ to ‘ten second’ transfers is seismic and comparable to the transition from regular mail to email. Today, however, almost nine out of ten euro credit transfers are still processed as traditional “slow” transfers. There is no reason why many citizens and businesses in the EU cannot send and receive money instantly, the technology to provide instant payments has been around since 2017. This ability to send and receive money in seconds is especially important at a time when household and SME bills are rising and every cent counts. This initiative will directly benefit EU citizens and businesses.”