European Commission: Soon to make payments in all banks without additional costs | News

So-called instant transfers are already well established in many EU countries. But across the EU, it’s probably 13 percent in most of those payments, EU officials say. The Commission hopes that the banks themselves will increasingly switch to instant payments, but this is disappointing.

For this reason, if EU countries and the European Parliament agree, the Commission wants to make it mandatory from now on. The committee suggests that banks also should not charge a higher rate for express payments than for a regular payment.

At the same time, in order to increase the reliability of quick payments, the Commission wants to oblige banks to check whether the account number corresponds to the beneficiary entered by the payer. For example, the bank can report that something is entered incorrectly or that there may be fraud.

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Indeed, responsible European Commissioner Mered McGuinness describes the transition as a “landslide” and compares it to the switch from mail to email. It is also “especially important at a time when bills for households and small and medium-sized businesses are soaring and every cent counts.”

It is not yet clear how long it will take for the proposal from the European Commission to become law. Once that happens, banks in the eurozone will have 12 months until making fast payments to customers becomes mandatory.

By reporting an error when entering the account number and the name of the beneficiary, banks are only obligated to make quick payments. So this new rule should be published, along with the mandatory option for express payment.

Read also: Instant payments are convenient, but how much does it cost? Are you well protected? Our money expert explains (+)