PAYMENTS
The EU’ s instant payments mandate sets clear deadlines: banks have been required to receive instant payments since January, with sending capabilities due by October 2025. Yet behind these straightforward regulatory requirements lies a more complex transformation that extends well beyond technical compliance.
While institutions focus on meeting the mandated timeframes for real-time transfers, the operational implications run much deeper than upgrading payment systems. The shift to instant settlement is forcing fundamental changes to fraud prevention, business models, and the very architecture of how banks operate.
The 24 / 7 challenge banks didn’ t see coming Meeting deadlines is one thing; running a bank round the clock is quite another.
Rossana Thomas, Vice President Enterprise Payments at Fiserv, says that“ adapting comprehensively rather than tactically to the regulatory push will position institutions to meet evolving market expectations efficiently and effectively”.
€ 100,000 NO MORE
Previous € 100,000 euro limit removed, enabling millions to be transferred overnight
The infrastructure demands extend well beyond upgrading payment rails. Banks are discovering they need entirely new operational frameworks for continuous processing, real-time customer support, and always-on fraud monitoring.
Legacy systems built for businesshour operations now must handle weekend millionaire transfers and middle-of-the-night merchant settlements.
Laurent Descout, Founder and CEO of Neo, highlights an often-overlooked consequence of the regulatory changes. With the previous € 100,000 limit removed,“ it’ s now possible to transfer millions overnight.”
Banks that once managed liquidity during predictable business hours now face the prospect of massive fund movements at 3am on a Sunday.
This creates what Rossana describes as a“ two-pronged approach: prioritising regulatory compliance while modernising backend systems, including cloud migration and real-time fraud monitoring.”
Modern payment hubs are emerging as the solution, separating payment execution from creaking core systems. These platforms promise what Rossana calls the ability to“ aid institutions in meeting regulatory timelines, ensuring real-time orchestration, settlement, built-in compliance and payment flow visibility”.
But implementing such systems requires more than technology: it demands operational transformation that many banks are still grappling with.
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