75 million instant payments
3 March 2021 - 4 min Reading time
1 year after launch, instant payments are becoming increasingly popular
75 million: that is the number of instant payments that we have all made in the past 12 months. Since its launch on March 4 last year, instant payments (the money is in the account within 5 seconds) have really taken off. Already 1 payment in 7 is instant.
- 18 banks process instant transfers, accounting for more than 90% of all payment accounts in our country. Their number will increase further in 2020.
- Today, 14% of all individual transfers are instant.
- Instant payments seem to be gradually becoming an alternative to cash and cheques.
- At the end of this year, several banks will be able to make instant transfers throughout Europe.
- The big advantage of instant payments: money goes directly from the payer's account, but is also immediately on the recipient's account.
The secret behind this success? The large number of banks that offer instant payments and the fact that transfers are instant by default at some banks. The figures suggest that instant transfers could eventually become the new normal. And that is good news for consumers and traders.
With instant payments, customers of the participating banks can transfer money 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The money is in the account of the beneficiary very quickly – in principle within five seconds. In March 2019, Belgium was one of the first European countries to introduce instant credit transfers to the general public.
Instant payments: the numbers
In 1 year's time, 75 million instant payments were made in our country. About 14% of all payments are instant today. In other words: 1 transfer in 7. The average amount of an instant transfer in 2019 was 479.23 euros.
The increase in the number of instant payments is initially at the expense of the number of regular transfers. But recently, the increase in the number of instant payments has outpaced the decline in standard transfers. Cash payments and checks may also be gradually replaced by an instant payment.
Sharing a restaurant visit with friends or paying for a flea market purchase? With an instant payment, the money is in the beneficiary's account within 5 seconds. A great asset for both the buyer/payer and the seller/beneficiary.
More banks
More than 90% of payment accounts in Belgium can receive an instant transfer. Many banks also process the transfers. And the list keeps growing:
AION
Argenta
AXA Bank
Bank de Kremer
Bank J. Van Breda & C°
Bank Nagelmackers
Belfius Bank
Beobank
BNP Paribas Fortis
bpost bank
CBC Banque
CPH Banque
Crelan
Europabank
Fintro
Hello bank!
ING België
KBC Bank
KBC Brussels
vdk bank
Those who are customers of these banks can receive instant payments and possibly also make them.
Each of these banks offers instant payments in its own way. For some, this is a separate product for a fee, for others the instant payments are standard and in a package at no additional cost.
The instant payment goes international
When instant payments were launched in Belgium last year, a phased approach was chosen. Although this is the case with some banks, instant payments are in principle not possible outside the national borders. But that will change from the end of this year: executing and receiving instant payments will therefore become more and more possible to and from the rest of Europe.
