SEPA Instant Payments

While standard SEPA payments can take between one and two business days to reach the payee, SEPA Instant payments allow money to be transferred from one payment account e.g. current account to another, in euro, within 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, any day of the year, including bank holidays and weekends*.

You will also get confirmation within 10 seconds of making a payment that it has been received by the payee. Depending on your provider, you may need to enable notifications to receive these confirmations.

You are already able to receive SEPA Instant payments, and you will be able to send SEPA Instant payments when your bank launches the new service. You will be notified directly by your bank. 

*There are a few exceptions to this. For example, times when your bank’s or payment service provider’s system might be unavailable due to planned maintenance. Your provider will inform you about these in advance.

The timing for offering SEPA Instant payments may vary depending on your bank or payment service provider, however all banks and payment service providers within EU countries who use the euro must:

• Be able to receive SEPA Instant Payments from January 2025
• Be able to send SEPA Instant payments from October 2025

Banks and payment service providers in the EU/EEA whose currency is not euro have until January 2027 to be able to receive and July 2027 to be able to send SEPA Instant payments.

Non-EU/EEA countries within SEPA such as the UK and Switzerland are not required but may choose to adopt SEPA Instant payments voluntarily. See the EPC Geographical scope here.

Fees for sending and receiving SEPA Instant payments are the same as you currently pay for standard SEPA payments. Check the website of your bank or payment service provider for details.

Registration is not required. The ability to send and receive individual SEPA Instant payments is available automatically through your banking channels, including mobile apps, online banking, and branch services (depending on your bank or payment service provider). For business customers who wish to submit a file of payments, please contact your banking provider for details.

If you are making a transfer from one payment account to another, SEPA Instant offers real-time payment processing making money available to the recipient almost immediately, which may be helpful for urgent or time-sensitive transactions. You will also get confirmation within 10 seconds of making a payment that it has been received by the payee. There are no additional fees for making SEPA Instant payments; fees are the same as for standard SEPA payments.

Depending on your bank or payment service provider, SEPA Instant payments will be available on your existing payment channels, such as digital (e.g. mobile and online banking) and in branch.

SEPA Instant payments can be made from payment accounts such as current accounts and some deposit accounts. Please refer to your own bank’s website to find out more.

Banks and payment service providers may have different ways to help you identify an incoming or outgoing SEPA Instant payment. Please refer to your provider’s website for more details.

Yes. Some banks allow you to set daily or per-transaction limits for SEPA Instant payments within the overall payment limits of your bank or payment service provider.  Please refer to your banking provider’s website for details on what limits they offer and how they can be applied.

Make sure to check your provider’s website for the most up-to-date information.

• Instant Payments for AIB customers
• Instant Payments for BOI customers
• Instant Payments for PTSB customers
• Instant Payments for An Post Money customers
• Instant Payments for Credit Union customers