SEPA instant payments: how they work and what they cost merchants
SEPA instant payments (SCT Inst) are credit transfers that complete in under 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, into the beneficiary's account. EU Regulation 2024/886 makes the scheme mandatory for European banks: receiving from 9 January 2025, sending from 9 October 2025. This guide covers how it works, what changes for merchants and what it costs versus cards.
Flat-rate cards versus SEPA instant transfers (estimated monthly cost)
| Offer | €8,000/month | €20,000/month | €50,000/month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cards with flat rate (1.9%) | €152 | €380 | €950 |
| SEPA Instant fixed fee (€0.20/operation) | €20 | €50 | €125 |
| Instant transfers with RoxPay | €0 | €0 | €0 |
Indicative estimates with an €80 average ticket (100, 250 and 625 operations); provider terms vary by contract. The RoxPay row follows the offer on SEPA instant transfers.
What SEPA instant payments are and how they work
SCT Inst is the instant credit transfer scheme curated by the European Payments Council, live since November 2017. The transfer leaves the payer's account and lands in the beneficiary's account in under 10 seconds, at night, on weekends and on holidays, 365 days a year. The messaging is ISO 20022, with structured payment references that enable automatic reconciliation.
The infrastructure moving the money is TIPS, operated by the European Central Bank, and RT1, operated by EBA Clearing: both connect banks across the SEPA area. The flow never touches card networks: no interchange, no scheme fee, no chargeback, one single banking chain from the payer's account to the payee's account.
The EU Regulation 2024/886: obligations, dates and parity
Regulation (EU) 2024/886, published in March 2024, turns the voluntary scheme into a legal obligation. Payment service providers must be able to receive instant payments from 9 January 2025 and to send them from 9 October 2025. Price parity is an explicit rule: the instant transfer cannot cost the consumer more than the regular one.
The regulation also introduces the Verification of Payee: before confirmation, the provider checks the entered name against the name registered on the IBAN and reports mismatches, a weapon against transfer fraud. The maximum 100,000€ cap per transfer is mandatory, with the option for the beneficiary to lower it. For merchants this means the method is now available on most European business accounts, with fraud controls built into the flow.
How a merchant accepts instant payments
To collect with SCT Inst a merchant needs a gateway that exposes the method at checkout, or an open banking/A2A flow: the customer picks the instant transfer, authorises in their banking app and the merchant receives amount and reference in under 10 seconds. No foreign account required, the merchant's own IBAN is the settlement account.
Three operational implications follow. Order confirmation can fire immediately, cutting shipping delays and uncertain payments. Reconciliation automates on the structured ISO 20022 reference, pairing payment and invoice in accounting. Refunds go out as instant transfers to the customer's IBAN, with no card network to reverse. Before activation, check the total cost: our payment gateway fees analysis shows the impact of flat rates on volume ([fees comparison](/en/resources/payment-gateway-fees-comparison)).
Costs: flat-rate cards versus instant transfers
Flat-rate cards typically cost 1.5-2.5% of the volume plus fixed components; instant transfers are priced with a fixed fee per operation, indicatively between €0.10 and €0.30 in provider price lists, while Regulation (EU) 2024/886 imposes price parity with the ordinary transfer for the end customer. The structure removes interchange and chargeback management entirely.
With RoxPay instant transfers carry no fees: the merchant collects the full value, with real costs only on card flows under the formula €0.15 + 0.35% to 0.85% (IC++). The table below compares the monthly cost of the same volume collected through flat-rate cards, through a fixed per-transfer fee, and through the RoxPay formula.
Use cases: B2B, high-ticket e-commerce and marketplaces
The instant transfer fits where cards fit poorly. In B2B it is the natural rail for deposits, invoice balances and recurring supplies: confirmation in under 10 seconds unlocks shipment without banking waiting days, and the structured reference pairs payment with invoice in the books.
In high-ticket e-commerce the percentage fee bites: on a €3,000 order a 2% flat rate costs €60, an instant transfer a fraction of it. Marketplaces use it for seller-to-platform flows without card networks, and subscription businesses pair it with mandates for automatic collections. In every case the limit is cultural before technical: the method needs to be known. With Regulation (EU) 2024/886 mandating availability, familiarity grows monthly: our [account to account B2B guide](/en/resources/account-to-account-b2b-bank-transfers) goes deeper on the B2B flows.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast is a SEPA instant payment?
Under 10 seconds from authorisation to the money landing in the beneficiary's account, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year: nights, weekends and holidays included.
How does an instant transfer differ from a normal transfer?
An ordinary transfer lands on the following business days; the instant one credits in under 10 seconds at any hour. For the end customer the price must be the same: Regulation (EU) 2024/886 imposes parity.
Are banks required to offer instant payments?
Yes. Regulation (EU) 2024/886 requires payment providers across SEPA to receive instant payments from 9 January 2025 and to send them from 9 October 2025, with price parity versus the ordinary transfer.
What do instant payments cost a merchant?
Providers usually apply a fixed fee per operation, indicatively between €0.10 and €0.30. With RoxPay instant transfers carry no fees: zero cost on the SEPA instant flow.
Do instant payments have chargebacks?
No. It is a push payment authorised by the customer in their banking app: there is no card-network chargeback. Errors are handled with refunds to the customer's IBAN.
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