Money moving across Europe is about to get a lot faster. The Instant Payments Regulation (IPR), known officially as Regulation (EU) 2024/886, was adopted in March 2024 to make instant euro transfers standard across the EU. From January 2025, payment service providers in the euro area must be ready to receive instant payments, and by October 2025, they must also allow customers to send them.
The aim is simple but powerful: to give consumers and businesses access to payments that are fast, secure and always available, while strengthening Europe’s independence and competitiveness in the global payments market.
In this article, we will explore what the regulation means in practice, why it matters, the challenges it raises and how merchants can prepare for the regulation.
What is SEPA Instant Credit Transfer?
SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (often abbreviated as SCT Inst) is the European Payments Council’s pan-European scheme that makes euro transfers move in seconds rather than days. Since its launch in November 2017, SCT Inst has offered customers the ability to send money across the EU instantly.
For merchants, the scheme brings several advantages. Payments are processed in real-time, up to EUR 100,000 per transfer, although some banks may apply lower limits. Once funds are sent, they are immediately and irrevocably credited, giving both merchants and consumers greater certainty and security.
Behind the scenes, the scheme is managed by the European Payments Council to ensure all banks and payment service providers (PSPs) use the same technical and operational standards. While SCT Inst provides the framework, the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) makes it mandatory for PSPs to offer these services by set deadlines, ensuring instant payments become available to all merchants and consumers across the EU.
Why does IPR matter?
The introduction of instant payments brings transformative benefits to the European payment ecosystem. At its core, IPR mandates that euro credit transfers must be available to the payee within 10 seconds, at any time of day, including weekends and public holidays. For merchants, this primarily raises customer expectations for immediate payment confirmation at checkout and quicker refunds, requiring them to adapt reconciliation and customer support processes accordingly.
Beyond speed and convenience, the regulation also supports the EU’s long-term goal of reducing dependency on non-European card schemes. Today, an estimated two-thirds of card transactions in the euro area are processed by non-EU entities. Moreover, 13 European countries rely exclusively on international card schemes or mobile solutions for in-store payments. IPR introduces a European alternative, reinforcing payment sovereignty and increasing competition in the market.
In parallel, the regulation responds to growing consumer expectations. As digital payments continue to rise and mobile-first behaviours become mainstream, users increasingly expect financial services to be immediate and always available. Instant payments respond to that demand while opening the door to new use cases such as faster refunds and instant payment confirmations at checkout.
Regulatory and industry challenges
While the benefits are clear, implementation poses a number of operational and technical challenges. The European Banking Authority has found that the risk of fraudulent transfers can be up to ten times higher for instant credit transfers compared to regular credit transfers. The evolving nature of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud in particular highlights the need for proactive and sophisticated risk management.
To address this, the IPR regulation prioritises two key measures for payment service providers: real-time fraud monitoring to detect and stop suspicious activity as it happens and stronger authentication with transaction-level risk assessments to tackle emerging threats. These measures fall primarily on PSPs and acquirers, who must offer advanced monitoring tools and resilient infrastructure.
From 9 January 2025, EU banks and PSPs must be able to receive instant payments within 10 seconds, at any time, day or night, a requirement that drives significant infrastructure and operational changes across the industry. For merchants, the most visible impact will be rising consumer expectations, as customers increasingly view instant payments and immediate confirmations as the norm.
Merchants may also need to adjust business processes to align with faster inflows and consumer expectations, even though settlement cycles with acquirers remain unchanged. Choosing payment partners whose systems can deliver consistent uptime, resilience and strong fraud protection across weekends, public holidays and peak trading periods will be key.
Rising adoption of instant payments in Europe
Adoption of instant payments is gaining momentum, particularly in markets where regulators and industry initiatives have aligned. Instant payments accounted for just 0.08% of all EU credit transfers in 2018. As of late 2024, ECB data showed that 16% of credit transfers in the euro area were processed as instant payments, accounting for approximately 4% of the total value of credit transfer transactions processed by euro area retail payment systems.
Spain leads the region, where over half of all SEPA credit transfers are instant. Payment methods like MyBank in Italy and Spain and Bancontact in Belgium, are the leading local payment methods in Europe, offering instant payments.
Across Europe, the volume of instant payments is projected to rise from 7.6 billion in 2023 to more than 21 billion by 2028. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 17.5%. As a result, instant payments as a share of all electronic payments in the EU will increase by 6.1% (from 5% in 2023 to 11.1% in 2028). Globally, central banks are also responding to the trend, with nearly 70% operating or developing instant payment systems in 2025, up from 59% the previous year. These developments point to a growing alignment between policy, infrastructure and user demand, setting the foundation for instant payments to become the new normal.
What this means for merchants and how we can help
The regulation is a clear signal that instant payments will soon become a standard part of the European payment experience. For merchants, this brings opportunities and adjustments.
With faster payments, transactions are confirmed in seconds, reducing delays and giving both you and your customers greater certainty. Refunds can be processed more quickly, helping you build stronger customer trust. At the same time, customers will increasingly expect this speed as the norm, so working with the right partner is essential. Merchants need a PSP that can process payments reliably around the clock, protect against fraud in real-time and adapt quickly as regulations and customer expectations evolve.
At emerchantpay, we are working with our partners to ensure readiness ahead of the deadlines. Our payment infrastructure supports instant payment flows that comply with SCT Inst, while our risk and compliance solutions are built to operate in real-time. This allows merchants to offer their customers fast, secure and compliant payments without adding complexity to their operations.
If you would like to explore how instant payments could enhance your payment experience, our team is here to speak with you.