Faster, safer payments for everyone: instant transfers and beneficiary verification become the new standard

Instant payments, now across Europe

Before this year, several Luxembourg banks already offered instant payments on a voluntary basis, mainly for domestic or limited cross-border transfers.

Since 9 January 2025, all payment service providers in the euro area have been required to receive instant credit transfers in euros, and from 9 October 2025, they must also be able to send them.

This milestone completes the rollout of instant payments across the SEPA area, ensuring that euro transfers can now be executed within seconds — anytime, day or night, weekdays and weekends included.

Whether you’re reimbursing a friend, sending money to family abroad, or paying a bill at the last minute, instant payments make transfers immediate and convenient.

This functionality also enhances security and trust for second-hand sales or urgent payments: once the transaction is made, the recipient receives the funds straight away.

Together with stronger fraud prevention measures, these changes mark a major step towards a faster and more reliable European payments landscape.

Strengthened protection against fraud

Alongside speed, security is taking a major leap forward. With the new Verification of Payee system, banks will now automatically check whether the recipient’s name matches their IBAN before executing a transfer.

Users will receive one of four messages before confirming their transaction:

• Match: the data matches – you can confirm safely.
• Close match: partial match – a suggested correction is shown.
• No match: mismatch detected – an alert invites you to double-check.
• Verification not possible: in rare cases, the system cannot verify (for technical reasons) – proceed with caution.

This additional check helps prevent errors and reduces the risk of fraud through identity theft or payment redirection, a growing concern in recent years

A shared responsibility

To make the most of this system, both payers and recipients have an active role to play:

• As a payer: always enter the exact name appearing on the account or invoice, and keep your saved beneficiary list up to date.
• As a recipient: share your correct account name and details (RIB/IBAN) to ensure seamless transfers.

A European effort for safer digital payments

The Verification of Payee initiative, introduced at the request of the European Commission, represents a major joint effort across the financial sector. Its implementation required significant investment and technological adaptation by ABBL members to enable real-time verification on a large scale.

This innovation demonstrates the banking industry’s ongoing commitment to protecting customers and supporting the development of a secure and efficient digital payment ecosystem.