Before November 2017, payment processing actors must ensure that people can transfer money in few seconds instead of several days today. Indeed, the implementation of instant payments will permit instantaneous money transfers, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, notably thanks to the mobile number.  
 

Nevertheless, this payment method is not a new idea. Some similar solutions exist in some countries like Japan (Japanese Zengin System) or United Kingdom (Faster Payment Service) but it was only nationwide initiatives. The specificity of instant payments is to go beyond borders by introducing a European instantaneous payment method.
The specifications are quite simple. It is a direct money transfer which must respect the following features:

  • – Maximum amount of 15,000 euros
  • – Transfer processing delay lower than 10 seconds
  • – Permanently functional (24 hours a day – 7 days a week)
  • – Irrevocability
  • – European : the transfer must be possible everywhere. The only condition is that users accounts must be hosted into the SEPA area.

 

Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)

 
This technology is an additional step toward payment methods standardization in Europe after the implementation of SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Debit Transfer a few years ago.
Instant payments are a huge threat for payment card transactions thus payment processing actors must do necessary adjustments to deal with this political initiative. Consequently, in facing the admiration that this project arouses, electronic payment actors will suggest to pair instant payments with wireless mobile payments. In this way, everyone will be able to perform a purchase with its mobile phone, immediately, by doing a money transfer from bank account to bank account.
Is it the disappearance of the payment card ? We will have an answer in the next future decades.

A propos de Laura WODLING