How to unlock the potential for instant payments?

The ongoing digitalisation process is amplifying the importance of electronic payments for the functioning of the European economy. In response, the European Commission has stepped-up its ambitions to create an integrated payment system and to increase the autonomy of existing means of payments.

Real time electronic payments, also known as instant payments, play a pivotal role in creating the desired homegrown pan-European integrated payment system for both online and point-of-sale payments. In fact, the Commission has pledged to make instant payments the ‘new normal’ in the EU.

This meeting report is based on the discussion held during the CEPS-ECRI conference on ‘How to unlock the potential for instant payments?’ on 5 May 2022.

Willem Pieter de Groen is Research Fellow and Head at the Financial Markets & Institutions Unit, CEPS. Beatriz Pozo Pérez is  Research Assistant and Membership and Events Coordinator at the Financial Markets & Institutions Unit, CEPS