The instant transfer is struggling to establish itself in France and the National Cashless Payments Committee (CNPS), a body supervised by the Banque de France, invites individuals and professionals to make more use of this service. According to CNPS data, instant transfers represent only 3% of the volume of transfers made in France, which is much less than in Europe. The average amounts (€530) are also much lower than those of traditional transfers (€1,780).
A paid service
However, the instant transfer has many advantages: in less than 10 seconds the money arrives directly on the beneficiary’s bank account, which can be used without delay and it operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For a traditional transfer, it It takes another 1 to 3 working days for the amount to be credited to the beneficiary’s account. Whether deferred, immediate or instantaneous, any bank transfer also offers a guarantee of receipt of funds. Yes, but now, many banks still charge instant transfers and/or limit their amount. Among the large traditional banks, only La Banque Postale has so far taken the step of free services by taking inspiration from the offers of certain online banks (Boursorama, Fortuneo).
Although national and European authorities consider instant transfers to be a strategic development axis, able to support the acceleration of the pace of exchanges and the digitization of the economy, it will therefore be necessary to make an additional effort in terms of tariffs so that really democratizing. Especially since the instant transfer is in competition with other immediate payment services such as Paylib (offered by most banks) allowing you to transfer money for free via your phone.
Individuals and professionals can use it
The CNPS nevertheless thinks that the instantaneous transfer suffers from a lack of notoriety among private and professional users. It is not reserved for payments between individuals since it also allows merchants to accept payments as an alternative to payment cards or cheques. In the other direction, the instant transfer can also be used in disbursement to improve the customer experience, in particular in the case of a reimbursement or a cash advance. The Committee also noted with satisfaction the growing number of beneficiaries able to send and receive instant transfers: nearly 50% of establishments in France, representing more than 90% of payment accounts.