Cheaper, faster and more secure electronic transactions European Commissionqualifying them instant payments as the predominant form of payment Online shopping or for simple money transfer. Thanks to the relevant regulation promoted by the EU. Direct payments are also intended to serve as a bulwark of the dominance of international systems such as Visa And Mastercardbut also the entry of large technology companies into the sphere of payments.

Using a credit or debit card for transactions on e-commerce is the dominant form of purchasing goods or services, but according to international studies, the cost in the form of fees for processing these transactions and using the infrastructure is not negligible and ranges from 1.5%-3.5% of the transaction turnover. While this fee is not apparent to the consumer, who is not charged for using their card at the time of purchase, the cost is largely borne by the supplier who has “taken care” of transferring this fee to the final product.

Until recently, this transaction method, although not cheap, seemed more affordable than paying in e-commerce through an account using IBAN, which, although it was widespread in countries, mainly in Central Europe, that traditionally hate the use of the card (for example, in Germany), was significantly burdened by the fees charged by banks on what we call a credit transfer, i.e. a simple transfer . The introduction of fees on this type of transaction is not a Greek originality, but a widespread banking practice of the past, which is now universally questioned by the Eurosystem itself and the European Central Bank, which, under the pressure of entering into world trade, large technology companies are trying to intervene in the transaction sector in the interests of consumers. and sellers.

What is offered?

The proposed solution is now instant payments, which, led by the ECB and the European Commission (through the TIPS infrastructure), are aiming to be universally accepted in the eurozone as the fastest, safest and cheapest way to transfer money and pay electronically. trade.

It appears that only one in ten euro credit transfers in the EU is processed as a direct payment, the EU initiative is accompanied by a proposal for a regulation that is expected to come into force six months after its adoption (it is in the final stage of consultations) and which :

• Introduces direct payments, providing that “all payment service providers offering credit transfers in euros must offer direct payments in euros to all their customers”.

Increasing adoption of international systems such as Visa and MasterCard, as well as the entry of technology companies into payments.

• It intervenes in pricing issues by stipulating that “charges for direct payments in euros must be equal to or lower than those for indirect payments in euros”.

• Regulates security issues by providing that “all providers of direct payments in euros must offer the service by checking the correspondence between the account number (IBAN) and the name of the beneficiary, and before the provider approves the transaction, warn the payer of any differences that may indicate fraud.

The burden of 200 billion euros

Unlike a traditional money transfer, which requires one to three days for the money to reach the recipient, i.e. seller, instant payment is done within seconds and as stated European Commission in a draft regulation that he has submitted for consultation, he will save the SME sector from spending up to 200 billion euros, that is, money that remains “blocked” daily during the so-called payment processing.

Direct payments are a relatively new type of credit transfer that meets the needs of an increasingly digitized society as they allow funds to be transferred within seconds at any time of the day or night and any day of the year and “can be used with European payment systems”. digital identity wallets to enable instant, secure and easy in-store, e-commerce or personal payments.” Direct payments are already offered free of charge in most countries in Europe, including Greece, which offers this option through Iris developed by DIAS.

Advantages

The benefit for businesses, and especially for SMEs, is that they will be able to better control their cash flows, receiving funds due to them immediately after the sale of goods and services. In addition, merchants can take advantage of new digital, affordable and efficient payment solutions to accept payments for their goods and services, reducing their transaction costs. By using direct payments, merchants can also provide a better service to their customers by offering instant refunds, for example. With instant payments, merchants know immediately that they have been paid and can immediately and securely sell goods and services, which is especially important in e-commerce. For their part, banks can use direct payments as a springboard to develop innovative financial services and products to benefit their customers and strengthen their competitiveness.

European shield from foreign providers

The industry is estimated payments from account to account focusing on them instant payments in 2026 it will reach 3.3 trillion. dollars from 2.1 trillion. dollars in 2022 with the main target e-commercewhile the prospect of being dominated by suppliers located outside the European Area, such as Apple Pay, Pay Pal, Ali Pay etc. mobilizes forces to integrate interbank systems such as DIAS, which in other European countries play a dominant role in electronic payments through instant payment solutions.

“If direct payments are not developed enough to meet the demand of citizens for innovative payments, other agencies will fill this gap,” said the deputy director of the Bank of Greece. Christina Papaconstantinou speaking on Thursday Payments 360 conference organized JUPITER. “Big technologies, i.e. global technology companies, are increasingly gaining a greater role and market share in providing solutions that interact directly with payment users, and over-reliance on non-European suppliers and infrastructure can hurt competition, making the European payments market less dynamic. , diverse and innovative. It could also leave important sectors of our economy open to a selection of companies with global market power that do not necessarily share Europe’s strategic goals,” he said.

Speaking at the same conference, Etienne Gooseformer Director General of the European Payments Council, Mr. Holger Neuhaushead of the ECB for innovation and Dr. Christian PirknerPresident of EMPSA, described the need for a single pan-European interbank direct payment facility “as a shield and defense” against US and Asian initiatives.

Large technology companies, that is, global technology companies, are constantly gaining an increasing role and market share.

From the two leading forces in direct payments in Europe, the Polish Blik and the Spanish Bizum, their heads Darius Mazurkiewicz And Fernando Rodriguez Ferrer, respectively, have developed their strategy in the field of instant payments through expansion into other European countries. In Poland, Blik, the equivalent of DIAS’s Iris, has 23 million users and, as Dariusz Mazurkiewicz noted, “67% of e-commerce transactions are done through Blik”, while Bizum has 25 million users and its e-commerce usage rate is year will reach 25%.

Their

“Perhaps our country should increase the use of direct payments, especially in the e-commerce sector, where the share through Iris is slightly below 1%,” said the CEO of DIAS. Stavrula Camburidou. The Director General of the Hellenic Banking Association agreed with this conclusion. Harula Apalagakinoting that the goal is to “identify Iris with payments in Greece”.