New EU Regulation Expands Access to Instant Euro Payments

From 9 October 2025, Regulation (EU) 2024/886 on instant credit transfers in euro (Instant Payments Regulation, IPR) will enter into force, introducing new obligations for banks and other payment service providers across Europe. The aim of the Regulation is to expand and simplify access to instant euro transfers for all clients.

One of the key changes is the obligation for banks that already provide standard SEPA credit transfers (SCT) to also offer instant credit transfers (SCT Inst). In addition, clients must be given the choice between instant and standard transfers whenever both options are available.

What changes at Magnetiq Bank

With the implementation of the Regulation, Magnetiq Bank will introduce a new option allowing clients to choose how their euro payments are sent:

• SEPA Instant (SCT Inst) – an instant transfer, with funds reaching the recipient almost immediately, available 24/7/365, provided both the sending and receiving banks support instant payments.
• SEPA Standard (SCT) – a regular SEPA transfer with standard processing times.

This functionality will be available for euro payments across Europe (including Latvia), as well as for budget payments and internal transfers made through the Internet Bank in the “Operations” section.

Benefits of the change

The introduction of this choice will provide clients with greater flexibility and control over their payments. Clients will be able to decide when an instant transfer is necessary — such as when speed is essential — or when a standard transfer is sufficient. Importantly, the Regulation ensures that banks cannot enforce instant payments by default, but must instead offer clients a genuine choice.

What Magnetiq Bank clients should do

When making a euro payment within Europe, a budget payment, or an internal transfer, check whether the “instant payment” option is available. If it is, select your preferred option via the checkbox. By default, the “instant payment” option will be pre-selected.

If you do not see this option, please check availability in the Internet Bank, or contact our support team or your account manager.

You will also be able to set or remove the “instant payment” option for all outgoing payments in the Internet Bank under “Profile” → “Personalised Settings.” Individual transfers can still be made either as SCT or SCT Inst in the “Operations” section.

For bulk payments, the selected sending method will follow the preference set in “Profile” → “Personalised Settings.”

If your selected payment is not processed as an instant payment due to technical or compliance reasons, a rejection notice will appear in the Internet Bank. In such cases, you can resend the payment as a standard (SCT) transfer.

Implementation timeline

If you agree with these changes, no action is required – the changes will take effect on 9 October 2025.

If you do not agree with the changes, you have the right to immediately and free of charge terminate any service agreements affected by them. In this case, please notify us in writing by 9 October 2025 and fulfill any obligations under those agreements.