The European Banking Authority has asked banks and other payment service providers to report instant payment charges across the EU, as Brussels seeks to ensure consumers are not paying extra to send money within seconds.
The EBA announced on 10 April that it had harmonised how National Competent Authorities report data under the Single Euro Payments Area Regulation, tightening the channel through which information on charges, payment accounts and sanctions-related rejections reaches the European Commission.
Under the new approach, NCAs will report the required information only to the EBA, which will then make it available to the European Commission. The authority stated that this single reporting channel should reduce the administrative burden on NCAs and ensure that both the EBA and the Commission receive consistent, high-quality data.
The EBA clarified that when NCAs already hold some of the required data, they are responsible for ensuring its accuracy and completeness without collecting it again from payment service providers, reducing duplicate reporting demands.
What banks, PSPs must report
Under the Sepa Regulation, payment service providers must report every 12 months to their competent authorities on the level of charges for credit transfers, instant credit transfers and payment accounts. They must also report the share of rejections, separately for national and cross-border payment transactions, due to the application of EU sanctions measures.
The EBA and the Commission will also receive information on the volume and value of instant credit transfers in euro sent during the preceding calendar year by payment service providers established in each member state, both national and cross-border.
Taken together, those figures should give Brussels a broader picture of how the instant payments market is functioning: what consumers are charged, how widely the service is used and how often payments are rejected.
What it means for consumers
Consumers are using instant payments more frequently in everyday banking, while smaller companies rely on them to improve cash flow and receive funds within seconds.
For households and small businesses, the EBA’s move could reveal whether instant payments cost more than standard credit transfers. It will not bring an immediate change to banking apps or account terms, but the more granular data should give regulators a clearer picture of what banks and other payment service providers are charging for instant euro transfers.
For customers making cross-border euro payments, the data on rejected transfers could also show whether payment controls are creating excessive friction.
Why Brussels wants better data
EU authorities want to ensure instant payments become a normal, affordable feature of retail banking, rather than a more expensive option available only in some markets or to some customers. The EBA argued that a single reporting channel through the authority would support the Commission in monitoring whether consumers across the EU have access to instant credit transfers at no higher cost than standard credit transfers.
By centralising the reporting route, the EBA aims to make the data more reliable and easier to compare across countries, sectors and cross-border transactions. That should strengthen the Commission’s ability to assess whether consumers across the bloc are genuinely benefiting from the shift towards instant credit transfers.
