Instant payments regulation

European Economic and Social Committee's opinion on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 260/2012 and (EU) 2021/1230 as regards instant credit transfers in euro - COM(2022) 546 final - 2022/0341 (COD)

Key points

The EESC:

• is of the opinion that the reachability of service for European consumers and businesses is crucial for the success of instant payments in the EU;
• considers that the European Commission should propose targeted measures to improve the fight against fraud as the international bank account number (IBAN) will only affect the authorised push payments;
• recommends including and explaining in the regulation provisions to ensure the uniform application of EU law and avoid differing interpretations of the application of sanctions;
• sees potential in expanding the legislative proposal on instant payments to the EU seven non-euro Member States which are part of the Single European Market;
• recommends the requirement for payment service providers not to charge more for instant payments in euro than for regular credit transfers in euro, especially if the IBAN check regime is extended to all payments of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA);
• is of the opinion that the sending bank should not request a fee for checking the match between the IBAN and the beneficiary's name but that it should be included in the price of the instant payment itself;
• would like the IBAN check not to be limited to instant payments but also extended to classic credit transfers until they are provided by payment service providers;
• considers that, when a mismatch is detected during the IBAN check processing by the receiving bank, this bank informs the sending bank of the situation;
• considers that, when a mismatch is detected and the consumer decides nevertheless to confirm the instant payment, the sending bank is no longer responsible if the beneficiary is not the right one.

For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat