SEPA Instant Payments (SCT inst) is the first instant payment scheme to be inter-operable in a region as large as SEPA and is a response to European customer needs for faster payments.

From November 2017, customers of participating banks will be able to send money to accounts in 10 seconds regardless of the SEPA countries involved in the transaction, and can do this 24/7/365.

SCT inst is above all an opportunity for early adopters to launch game-changing products with value-added services to grow new business and revenues. Long term it could also help create more cost efficiencies for banks driven by automation and the simplification of operations. The sooner you get to market, the sooner you can leverage the benefits.

Icon’s Instant Payments Framework ready for SCT inst

Financial institutions are already under pressure to transform their infrastructure in line with ever-changing regulations, but now there will also be the added pressure of changing back-office processes and customer channels to include SCT inst. IPF accelerates the transition to instant payments without the need for the re-engineering existing payment systems.

This means that our customers can ensure they’re early to market and can realise the benefits of SCT inst quicker and effectively.

The EPC is convinced that the scheme will progressively change payments and their use as we know them. New use cases will appear on the market based on instant payments. The only grey area is the date at which the number of  Inst transactions becomes significant. To shed some light on the implementation status of  in Europe, we interviewed Jean-Yves Jacquelin, who chairs the EPC Scheme Evolution and Maintenance Working Group, and who is also Senior Payments Expert at Erste Bank Vienna.