Instant Payments here to stay

ABN AMRO believes strongly that transferring money should be as quick, simple and round-the-clock as sending a WhatsApp message. We were therefore an early adopter of Instant Payments, which has allowed us to create a unique proposition: our customers don’t need to ask for an Instant Payment. When they transfer money, ABN AMRO selects the best method to ensure their payment is processed as quickly as possible: as an instant on-us transaction, Instant Payment or, if the amount exceeds the agreed maximum or the recipient’s bank isn’t yet part of the Instant Payments system, a regular credit transfer.

Since its European launch in November 2017, ABN AMRO has been a frontrunner in offering clients Instant Payments, and we continue to expand the possibilities. We’ve made Instant Payments available not just to customers using mobile or internet banking channels. Future-dated payments, standing orders and payments via our payment initiation (PSD2) API are also all instant.

Last but not least, there are the instant credit transfers through ABN AMRO’s hugely popular ‘Tikkie’ - a fun, user-friendly app that lets retail and corporate clients of any Dutch bank send or present a request-to-pay direct to someone via WhatsApp or QR-code. They can then pay with just a few screen touches. Its exemplary user-friendliness has not only seen the use of instant credit transfers via Tikkie continue to grow. The word ‘Tikkie’ has become the propriety eponym in the Netherlands for such transactions.

Soon, we expect corporate customers to be able to make their first individual Instant Payments via ABN AMRO’s portal Access Online. For corporates looking to exploit the full potential of our 24/7 economy, we’re exploring how to process batch and salary payments as Instant Payments in a similar way to how we process individual payments. At the same time, we’re looking into how best to unlock the potential of API technology in both payment initiation and payment account insight and notification.

An Instant Payment in EUR:

• has a maximum execution time of 10 seconds, though 98% take less than 3 seconds;
• has a maximum transaction sum of EUR 100,000. However, participating banks may agree (and some already have) on a higher maximum, up to as much as EUR 1 billion;
• can be executed 24 hours a day, any day of the year;
• is irrevocable, like a regular credit transfer;
• includes the option for a real-time confirmation to both payer and recipient, allowing track-and-trace functionality.

Growing adoption across Europe:

• Some 2,600 banks across 23 European countries now offer Instant Payments.
• 8,57% of all SEPA credit transfers processed in Europe are instant.
• Close to 700 million Instant Payments have been processed between Dutch banks (excluding on-us transactions) since its launch in February 2019.

As Business Developer, Sandra Peute is responsible for ABN AMRO’s product propositions on SEPA transactions. With over 20 years’ experience in different roles within transaction banking, she’s recognized as an international expert on SEPA (Instant) Credit Transfers and SEPA Direct Debits. Sandra also represents the Dutch SEPA scheme participants on the European Payments Council’s Scheme Management Board and is a member of the European Central Bank’s TIPS Consultative Group.

Photo: Sandra Peute (Business Developer).