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SEPA Instant Credit Transfer

Real-time payments to your company's account

Incoming funds available in seconds

You’ll get money from other banks to your company’s account within seconds, around the clock, every day of the year.

Information on received payments immediately available

Companies can match their accounts receivable on the same day to speed up deliveries and improve customer service.

Easier liquidity management and higher working capital efficiency

Incoming funds will be immediately at your disposal. One bank account is enough to cover the entire euro payments area.

Real-time payments across Europe

Payments are turning gradually into real-time now that SEPA Instant Credit Transfer is being deployed by banks in Europe at a quickening pace. Euro-denominated credit transfers can be completed within seconds between participating banks. Banks will join in the service in accordance with their own schedule, but the service is expected to be very extensive in the entire SEPA by the end of 2019.

As OP’s customer, you are automatically able to receive real-time SEPA Instant Credit Transfer from April 2019 onwards. No action is required on your part. We recommend you to check how your processes and systems could be changed to make the most out of real-time payments and information.

You’ll be able to send payments in real time on a later date.

Check whether your company's bank is a SEPA Instant Credit Transfer service provider >

SEPA Instant Credit Transfer in a nutshell

Funds are transferred and available for use within 10 seconds after the payment is sent 24/7, each day of the year.
The same service is used throughout SEPA between participating banks.
The SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme has been built on the existing SEPA Credit Transfer scheme. Payment service providers can choose to join the scheme as an exclusively receiving, or both receiving and sending participant.
There is no maximum amount for SEPA Instant Credit Transfers between Finnish banks. In the rest of the SEPA area there is a 15 000 euro maximum limit currently.

What do I have to do to be able to receive real-time payments?

You can receive real-time payments without taking any action. All you need is a payment account denominated in euros at OP Financial Group.
When the payer's bank sends a payment as a SEPA Instant Credit Transfer, the money will be available on your account within 10 seconds.
You would gain full benefits by utilizing the information on received customer payments already during the same day in deliveries and customer service.

How much does a SEPA Instant Credit Transfer cost?

The service fee for incoming SEPA Instant Credit Transfers is the same as for incoming transfers with a reference number or message.

FAQ

When is the real-time payment scheme available?

Real-time payments (SEPA Instant Credit Transfers) can be made and received at any time: the service is available 24/7.

Which banks offer real-time payments?

Real-time payments can be made and received in all of Europe: the same service is available in the entire SEPA between participating banks. The scheme may be extended to cover 34 European countries.

What happens if the bank receiving the real-time payment does not participate in the scheme?

OP will specify the treatment of outgoing payments before adopting outgoing real-time payments.

What is the currency of real-time payments?

Real-time SEPA Instant Credit Transfers are euro payments.

Does the amount of real-time payment matter?

Inter-bank transfers in Finland currently do not have a euro-based upper limit. The upper limit in the SEPA scheme is now 15,000 euros. The upper limit will probably rise across SEPA and banks from other countries will join in the Closed User Group (CUG) without a maximum limit.

In the future, how are received payments updated?

Intraday account and reference transactions can already be retrieved 24/7/365 as a current day transaction statement query from the Web Services channel using the camt.052 message. More automated system integration via APIs will be available later.

How can I see whether a received payment was made as a real-time payment?

The transaction’s additional information message is “SEPA INSTANT CREDIT TRANSFER”. You will see this on the bank statement and transaction query, for instance. For payments made from another bank as a regular credit transfer, the additional information is “SEPA PAYMENT”

What will happen to urgent payments currently used in Finland?

When Finnish banks join in the new SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme, the old urgent payment will be replaced with the new real-time service with a broader geographical reach. Banks will join in the service in their own time.