Since November 2017, transfers from account to account within seconds have been technically possible in Europe. Now the direct bank ING is also offering turbo transfer.
Transfers in seconds have been possible for years – now private customers of the direct bank ING Germany should also be able to use so-called instant payments.
“We want to offer this to our private customers by the end of this year as well. Initially for incoming payments, in the coming year also for outgoing payments, ”said ING Germany boss Nick Jue of the German press agency in Frankfurt.
As with other banks, such turbo transfers will probably not be free of charge, as an ING Germany spokesman explained: With regard to a price for outgoing real-time payments, the institute will orientate itself on the market.
Within seconds
Instant Payments are account-to-account payments that are processed around the clock in seconds. With such real-time payments, the recipient can dispose of the amount received immediately after sending the payment. Until now, the money was usually only booked on the next bank working day. For example, anyone who sells their old car privately has so far at least had to take into account the risk that the buyer will not pay. If such a transaction is processed by real-time payment, the seller can directly check whether the money has arrived in his account.
In Europe, since November 21, 2017, the quick transfers known as “SCT Inst” have been possible. On the same day, Hypovereinsbank (HVB), part of the Italian Unicredit Group, tested the system; since November 27, 2017, HVB customers have been able to order transfers in real time via online banking. In mid-July 2018, the savings banks followed suit, and Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank as well as various cooperative banks also offer the service.
Many banks forego the offer
However, the boost hoped for by experts for this type of cashless payment did not materialize. Quite a few financial institutions do not use instant payments to this day, as the industry newsletter “finanz-Szene.de” recently showed, which also reported on the start of instant payments for corporate customers at the ING direct bank.
ING Germany boss Jue does not expect the resounding success from the introduction for private customers, as he said in an interview with the German press agency: “We have to have this on offer. I am skeptical whether this is really used that much. “
There is still room for improvement across Europe. The European Payments Council currently lists 2304 payment service providers from 24 countries in the so-called Sepa area who offer instant payments. That is 59 percent of the payment service providers in Europe.
In the Sepa payment area (“Single Euro Payments Area”), transfers, direct debits and card payments are to be standardized across borders and thus accelerated. This single euro payment area includes the 27 EU states as well as: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, the Vatican City state and the United Kingdom. The EU Commission had set the goal of making payments within seconds the standard throughout the European Union by the end of 2021.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
