Instant bank transfers in euros arrive in Italy. The Banca Sella Group, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit are the first banks in Italy to make available to their customers the payment service based on the new SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme of the European Payment Council (EPC).
The three banks, starting with today, the launch date of the program, use Eba Clearing's RT1 system, the first pan-European platform for real-time payments in euros. The RT1 system was developed by Eba Clearing with the support of 39 European banks, including the Banca Sella Group, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit.
The three Italian banks are therefore among the first in Europe to implement this new payment tool, which immediately allows instant bank transfers to be received from counterparties throughout the Sepa area. The sending of the same will be implemented progressively over the next few months, according to the programs of each individual participating bank.
Instant euro transfers can be done in seconds, allowing the beneficiary to have the amount immediately available. The operation can take place at any time, seven days a week (including Saturdays and holidays), twenty-four hours a day and the credit to the beneficiary's account is immediate. The maximum amount for each bank transfer is currently set at fifteen thousand euros.
To carry out an instant bank transfer in euro, it is sufficient that the originator and the beneficiary hold a current account at one of the banks adhering to the SCT Inst scheme; no registration or further authorization is required.
During 2018, the expansion of membership of the SCT Inst scheme by other credit institutions in Italy and in the Sepa area it will lead to a significant diffusion of the use of this new payment instrument, which already today makes it possible to reach around 600 European banks in 8 countries.
