EU Drafts Law Requiring Instant Euro Payments

According to Reuters, the European Union is working on legislation that would force eurozone banks to accept instant payments in euros. Based on their research, just 11% of euro credit transfers were done in the form of quick payments by the end of 2021.

The draft states: “Payment service providers (PSPs) who offer credit transfers in euros will be required to offer the service of sending and receiving instant payments in euros. The obligation would cover 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

Reuters claims that the draft law will be published this week and then sent to members of the EU and the European Parliament. PSPs would have six months to prepare for instant payments in euros within the eurozone, and they would have a year to submit immediate euro payments.

These new regulations are part of an effort to create “competitive home-grown and pan-European payment systems.”

The EU has long attempted to promote competitors to Visa and Mastercard, the leading US businesses. One such attempt, the European Payments Initiative, was forced to give up its efforts earlier this year when more than half of its bank members quit.