ACI readies European banks and merchants for Instant Payments

By Gloria Methri

ACI Worldwide is supporting banks and financial institutions to comply with and prepare for the upcoming European Commission (EC) Mandate on Instant Payments, enabling them to reap the benefits instant payments offer and secure their competitiveness in a payments market driven by real-time and digital transformation.

ACI’s Enterprise Payments Platform currently supports 20 banks with access and connectivity to TIPS and RT1, offering end-to-end instant payments, orchestration, and value-added services, combined with AI-powered fraud protection.

In addition, ACI recently launched its ACI Instant Pay solution in Europe and the U.K., enabling merchants to accept online, mobile, and in-store payments instantly via simple API integration with its Payments Orchestration Platform.

A proposed EC law mandates banks, and financial institutions across Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) countries to offer instant payments under the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme, at the same cost or lower than standard credit transfers. The new regulation is aimed at unlocking the benefits of instant payments for European economies. Increased participation, simplified access, commercially attractive pricing, and new value-added services for consumers and businesses are some of the significant changes expected because of the mandate.

“The European Commission clearly sees instant payments as a path to unlock economic growth and drive financial inclusion across its member states. European banks must act now to comply with the EC Mandate,” said Thomas Warsop, President, and CEO, of ACI Worldwide.

“Instant payments will help to secure the competitiveness of banks, financial services providers, and merchants. They remove payments friction, contribute to greater liquidity and ultimately improve the customer experience.”

“Banks should evaluate whether they are truly maximizing existing instant payment rails in their market. Ultimately, the extent to which they make instant payments part of their offering is a strategic decision. It seems increasingly clear, however, that limiting their commitment to the minimum also means limiting their potential share of the future payments market,” Warsop concluded.