The European Union has just passed new legislation which will constrain banks. These will indeed have to make instant transfers free.
A year ago, Brussels issued new rules that strengthened consumer protection with online banks. And the European Union has since continued to work on other texts which should be beneficial to citizens of the Union in this area, such as this new European regulation definitively voted on on April 8.
An obligation from January 9, 2025
In France today, according to a tariff statement of Moneyvox, only 25 banks out of the 128 included in the study offer a free instant transfer service. On average, the latter is billed at 1.02 euros per operation in our country, which can quickly increase costs when we multiply these emergency shipments.
But that will soon no longer be the case. With the new European regulation, banks will soon be obliged to charge instant transfers at the same price as traditional transfers, which will amount to making them free. This obligation will apply from January 9, 2025. On this same date, all banks must be able to receive instant transfers, when the following October 9, they must all offer the possibility of sending them.
Towards an increased problem of fraud?
With these new rules, the European Union not only wants to be able to provide a helping hand to the consumer, but also to promote a means of payment that is sovereign. The instant SEPA transfer is in fact in the hands of Brussels, unlike the major global payment networks Visa and Mastercard, both American, just like the financial services offered by Apple or Google.
On paper, no one will be able to deny the progress of this measure, which will apply to other EU countries and to electronic payment establishments from 2027. Except that, mechanically, it should lead to a sharp increase in payments instantaneous, which are irreversible.
However, many frauds are prevented when the issuer of a transfer verifies the identity of the person to whom he is sending the money, and changes his mind. What instant transfer does not allow. In the first half of 2023, the fraud rate on these transfers without delay was 20 times higher than on traditional transfers. A new challenge in perspective?
Source : Capital, Moneyvox
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