Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulations (EU) No 260/2012 and (EU) 2021/1230 as regards instant credit transfers in euro

Summary:

Legislative initiative - tabled by the European Commission on 26 October 2022 - introducing amendments to Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 to make instant payments in the Euro currency available to citizens and businesses holding a bank account in the European Union (EU) and in EEA countries. This is a text with EEA relevance.

Further information:

Instant payments (IPs) are a form of credit transfer whereby funds pass from the payer's account to the payee's in a matter of seconds, at any time and any day of the year. In the European Union (EU), the architecture for IPs in euro already exists. It comprises several payment systems offering instant settlement, and the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) instant credit transfer scheme launched in 2017 by the European Payments Council. Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 sets out the rules and technical requirements for credit transfers and direct debit transactions in Euro within the SEPA . Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 codified the legislative framework on cross-border payments in the EU.

The potential benefits of IPs to consumers and businesses in the EU have been impeded by the slow rollout and low uptake of IPs. In a Communication published in December 2018, the European Commission supported a fully integrated IP market in the EU, and in another Communication adopted in September 2020, it announced that it might propose legislation requiring payment service providers to offer IPs in euro by end-2021. In a Communication published in January 2021, the Commission reiterated the importance of its Retail Payments Strategy and of digital innovation in finance as a way of strengthening the single market for financial services.

This draft law was subsequently announced in the Commission's 2022 Work Programme. It was eventually adopted by the European Commission on 26 October 2022.

• Primary Source

Commentary and Analysis

Times of Malta: Opinion, 02/11/2022: EU initiatives regulating instant payments https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/eu-initiatives-regulating-instant-payments.991673

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News

Euronews, 26/10/2022: EU pushes for banks to offer instant payments in euros at no extra cost https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/10/26/eu-pushes-for-banks-to-offer-instant-payments-in-euros-at-no-extra-cost

Reuters, 26/10/2022: Bank instant payment shift to help business and consumers, says EU https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/seismic-shift-bank-payments-help-business-consumers-says-eu-2022-10-26/

Bloomberg, 26/10/2022: EU Plans ‘Seismic Shift’ to Usher In 10-Second Bank Transfers https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-26/eu-aims-to-accelerate-use-by-banks-of-instant-payments-in-euros

The Sofia Globe, 27/10/2022: EC proposes to accelerate rollout of instant payments in euro https://sofiaglobe.com/2022/10/27/ec-proposes-to-accelerate-rollout-of-instant-payments-in-euro/

Independent.ie, 27/10/2022: EU wants bank transfers to be cheap and instant across the bloc https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/banking/eu-wants-bank-transfers-to-be-cheap-and-instant-across-the-bloc-42096735.html

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Official

EUR-LEX: SWD(2022)546: Staff Working Document accompanying the Proposal - Impact Assessment Report https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=SWD:2022:546:FIN

EUR-LEX: SWD(2022)547: Staff Working Document accompanying the Proposal - Executive Summary of the Impact Assessment Report https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=SWD:2022:547:FIN

European Central Bank (ECB): Payments & Markets: What are instant payments? https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/integration/retail/instant_payments/html/index.en.html

European Commission: Press Release, 26/10/2022: Payments: Commission proposes to accelerate the rollout of instant payments in euro https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_6272

European Commission: Questions and Answers on the Commission's proposal to promote euro instant payments (26 October 2022) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_22_6273

European Commission: Remarks by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis at the Press conference on the Commission's proposal for a regulation on instant payments (26 October 2022) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_22_6409

European Commission: Remarks by Commissioner McGuinness at the Press conference on the Commission's proposal for a regulation on instant payments (26 October 2022) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_22_6410

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