Friday, just after 6 pm: a supplier is waiting for her money before she loads the goods for Monday. With an ordinary transfer, the amount would reach her account on the next business day at the earliest. This is what the instant transfer is for, and in Austria it stopped being an optional extra offered by a few institutions in 2025. An EU regulation requires banks in the euro area to offer it, at a price that may not exceed that of a normal transfer.
This article explains the instant transfer in Austria: the deadlines set by the regulation, the rule on fees, the limit that account holders set themselves and the verification of payee. At the end you will see how instant transfers work with the Vivid business account.
Key points at a glance:
- With an instant transfer, the amount is available on the payee’s account within 10 seconds, on every calendar day around the clock.
- Banks in the euro area, Austria included, have had to receive instant transfers since 9 January 2025 and to send them since 9 October 2025.
- Since 9 January 2025, an instant transfer may not cost more than a comparable normal transfer at the same provider.
- On request, the account holder sets a maximum amount per day or per payment and can change it at any time.
- The verification of payee compares IBAN and name before the payment is authorised and is free for everyone.
- For payment institutions and e-money institutions in the euro area, the obligation starts on 9 April 2027.
What is an instant transfer?
An instant transfer is a credit transfer in euro that is executed immediately. The European Central Bank describes it like this: the funds are available on the payee’s account within 10 seconds of the payment order. In everyday use several names exist side by side, such as SEPA instant credit transfer, SEPA Instant or instant payment. They all mean the same scheme, which the European Payments Council launched in November 2017 as SEPA Instant Credit Transfer.
A SEPA instant transfer works across the whole SEPA area and knows no opening hours. The EU regulation requires every payment account that can receive ordinary transfers to be reachable for instant transfers too: on every calendar day around the clock, that is 365 days a year, weekends and public holidays included. The difference from the standard transfer at a glance:
| Instant transfer | Ordinary SEPA transfer | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | Within 10 seconds on the payee’s account | By the end of the following business day at the payee’s payment service provider, one business day later for paper orders |
| Availability | Every day around the clock | On the payment service provider’s business days |
| Currency | Euro | Euro |
| Fee | No higher than for the comparable normal transfer | According to the provider’s price list |
| Verification of payee before authorisation | Yes, free of charge | Yes, free of charge |
For companies, predictability matters most. If you know that a payment arrives in seconds, you no longer need to plan deadlines with a buffer of one business day. Because the money reaches the payee after a few seconds, however, there is hardly any time to notice a typo. Checking the payee’s details before authorising therefore makes sense for every instant payment; more on that below.
Instant transfer: an obligation for banks since 2025
The obligation to offer instant transfers comes from Regulation (EU) 2024/886 of 13 March 2024, which amends the SEPA Regulation (EU) No 260/2012. As a regulation, it applies directly in every member state, Austria included. As Austria uses the euro, the earlier euro-area dates apply here. The overview shows when each obligation of the banks takes effect:
| Date | What applies from then | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| 9 January 2025 | Be able to receive instant transfers in euro | Art. 5a(8) |
| 9 January 2025 | Instant transfer no more expensive than the comparable normal transfer | Art. 5b |
| 9 October 2025 | Be able to send instant transfers in euro | Art. 5a(8) |
| 9 October 2025 | Offer verification of payee before every transfer | Art. 5c |
| 9 April 2027 | Sending and receiving also at payment institutions and e-money institutions | Art. 5a(8) |
The principle is set out in Article 5a: anyone who offers their customers credit transfers must offer all of them instant transfers as well. A rule on channels comes on top. Every channel through which a normal transfer can be ordered must also allow an instant transfer, whether app, online banking or file upload. The instant transfer is therefore no longer an extra that has to be booked separately.
For business customers this also means that bundled orders are not exempt from the rule. The regulation specifically describes when a single order from a bundle counts as received, namely as soon as the payment service provider separates it from the bundle. The provider must start this step without delay.
E-money institutions and payment institutions: until April 2027
Not every provider of a business account is a bank. Payment institutions and e-money institutions could not so far participate directly in certain payment systems, and the regulation therefore gives them more time. If they are located in a euro-area state, they must offer sending and receiving instant transfers from 9 April 2027.
Vivid is an e-money institution and already offers SEPA instant transfers today, without waiting for that date. The second-to-last section shows how this looks in the business account.
What does an instant transfer cost?
On fees, Article 5b sets a clear ceiling: the charges for sending and receiving an instant transfer in euro may not be higher than the charges the same provider levies for other credit transfers of the corresponding type. Banks in the euro area have had to comply with this rule since 9 January 2025. According to the recitals of the regulation, all types of charges count, including flat fees and prices per transaction.
Does an instant transfer cost extra? Under this rule it does not, when compared with the matching normal transfer. If the standard transfer is included in the account package, no surcharge may apply to the instant transfer. If the normal transfer costs a fixed amount per item, that is also the ceiling for the instant version. According to the recitals, however, the provider may decide which normal transfer counts as comparable by criteria such as the channel used to initiate the payment, the customer status or additional services.
Article 5b expressly makes the verification of payee free of charge for all users. When looking at the cost of an instant transfer, the account’s whole pricing model therefore counts, not just the single booking:
This makes it possible to compare two account models fairly, even if both advertise free instant transfers.
Setting your own limit for instant transfers
The regulation does not prescribe a fixed limit for the instant transfer. It puts the decision in the hands of the account holders. Under Article 5a(6), the payment service provider must, on request, offer the option to set a maximum amount for instant transfers. Whether this amount applies per day or per payment is for the account holder alone to decide. It can be changed at any time before an order is placed.
If an order is above this individual limit or would exceed it, the provider does not execute the instant transfer. It must then report that the order was declined and explain how the maximum amount can be changed. For companies this results in two options:
Such a limit caps the possible damage from fraud or a typo, because an executed instant transfer reaches the payee within seconds. How high you set it depends on your own payments: if you regularly transfer larger amounts to known partners, it sits higher than for occasional urgent payments.
Verification of payee: name and IBAN compared
Under the Payment Services Directive, the IBAN is what counts for executing a transfer. The regulation notes that, under those rules, payment service providers were not obliged to check the payee’s name. Article 5c changes that: since 9 October 2025, banks in the euro area offer a verification of payee before every transfer, for instant transfers as well as for normal SEPA transfers. The service is free of charge.
The check runs as soon as the payee’s details have been entered and before the payment can be authorised. The payer’s provider asks the payee’s provider whether IBAN and name match, that is, whether the account really belongs to the stated payee. If the payee is a legal person, another unique identifier, such as a tax number, can be used instead of the name, provided the payer’s provider offers this input and the payee’s provider holds that data. What happens during the verification of payee:
A special rule applies to companies. Users who are not consumers and submit several payment orders as a bundle can opt out of the verification of payee, for example for a bulk transfer for salaries. This opt-out can be withdrawn at any time. For single payments to new partners, the check remains a quick extra look before the money is on its way.
Instant transfer step by step
How you send an instant transfer in practice looks slightly different at every provider. The steps themselves follow from the regulation:
Enter IBAN, the payee’s name, amount and payment reference, for example from the invoice.
Before authorising, the provider shows whether name and IBAN match. If they differ, clarify the details with the payee.
If the amount is above your own maximum, the payment is not executed. The limit can be adjusted beforehand.
The order counts as received immediately, whatever the time or day.
Within 10 seconds the money is with the payee. If no confirmation arrives, the amount is credited back to the payer’s account without delay.
In short: An instant transfer needs the same details as a normal transfer. What is new is the verification of payee before authorising and the result after a few seconds.
When the instant transfer pays off for companies
The instant transfer is especially useful where time costs money: a delivery that is only loaded once payment has arrived, an invoice with a tight deadline or payments at the weekend. It also matters when receiving. If customers pay by instant transfer, the money is on the business account in seconds and ready for the next expense. This makes liquidity easier to plan, especially for smaller businesses with tight payment terms.
Little changes for regular payments with a fixed date, such as rent or salaries, as long as they are ordered in time. Here the instant transfer mainly brings flexibility when a deadline does become tight. For payments to new payees: the verification of payee and a suitable limit are the two tools meant to protect against fraud schemes such as fake invoices.
Good to know: The rules on fees, limit and verification of payee apply to instant transfers in euro. For payments in other currencies, the conditions of the respective provider remain decisive.
Instant transfers with the Vivid business account
In the Vivid business account, SEPA instant transfers are already available, ahead of the date that applies to e-money institutions. Instant transfers are sent and received within seconds, provided the other bank supports this transfer method. This is what the offer looks like:
Even in the plans without a monthly basic fee, some services can incur charges. These include additional cards, cash withdrawals above certain free allowances or premium features from higher plans.
Vivid in brief: an online business account for companies and the self-employed in Austria, with free SEPA instant transfers and unlimited IBANs in every plan.
Payments that arrive in seconds
Open the Vivid business account online and send SEPA instant transfers at no extra charge.
Frequently asked questions
Since when has the instant transfer been mandatory in Austria?
Banks in Austria and the rest of the euro area have had to receive instant transfers in euro since 9 January 2025 and to send them since 9 October 2025. The legal basis is Regulation (EU) 2024/886.
Does an instant transfer cost extra?
Since 9 January 2025, an instant transfer may not cost more than a comparable normal transfer at the same provider. If the normal transfer is free, the same applies to the instant transfer.
How high is the limit for an instant transfer?
The regulation does not set a fixed limit. On request, account holders set their own maximum amount per day or per payment and can change it at any time before an order. Orders above it are not executed.
How quickly does an instant transfer arrive?
The amount is available on the payee’s account within 10 seconds of the order being received. If the confirmation does not arrive, the money is credited back to the payer without delay.
Does the instant transfer work at weekends?
Yes. Accounts that receive transfers must be reachable for instant transfers on every calendar day around the clock, weekends and public holidays included.
What does the verification of payee check?
Before authorising, the provider checks whether the payee’s IBAN and name match and shows the result. The check is free of charge and has applied to instant and normal transfers since 9 October 2025.
Do e-money institutions also have to offer instant transfers?
Yes, in the euro area from 9 April 2027. As an e-money institution, Vivid offers SEPA instant transfers already now.
This article is for general information and is not legal advice. The rules and deadlines mentioned come from Regulation (EU) 2024/886 and information from the European Central Bank; each payment service provider sets its own specific conditions. Payment services are provided by Vivid Money S.A., 21 rue Glesener, Luxembourg, L-1631, Luxembourg, an Electronic Money Institution authorized and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, Luxembourg, under the register number W00000015.
