European Payments Council launches SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme
Javier Santamaría, European Payments Council
The European Payments Council (EPC) has unveiled its Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme.
European payment service providers (PSPs) now have one year to get ready to process the first SCT Inst transactions in November 2017.
Javier Santamaría, chair of the EPC, says the launch is a “new era in payments, based on speed and innovation” and it “will pave the way for emerging methods of payment, such as person-to-person mobile payments”.
The SCT Inst scheme is a “world first”, enabling individuals, businesses, corporates and administrations to make “instant” euro credit transfers between accounts across an international area that will progressively span over 34 European countries.
Created by the EPC, in “collaboration with stakeholders from across the payment chain”, it will allow the transfer of money, initially up to €15,000, to another account in less than ten seconds, “at any time and any day of the year, including weekends and holidays”. Presently, the EPC says it can take up to one day.
The SCT Inst scheme is optional, but the EPC wants all PSPs to participate in the SCT Inst scheme, “at least as receivers”, and to apply as from January 2017 for adherence to the scheme.
The EPC says the key parameters of the SCT Inst scheme are “not set in stone”. PSPs willing to increase the amount limit and transaction speed can bilaterally or multilaterally agree to do so. The maximum amount will be reviewed annually as of November 2018, so it “reflects technical evolutions and market needs”. In addition, a regular change management cycle, open to all stakeholders, will be organised.
Earlier this year, Santamaría wrote for Banking Technology about the SCT Inst scheme and called on all interested parties to get involved in the public consultation.
