Gillian Byrne
Head of Payments, Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI)
Irish consumers can now make and receive euro payments within 10 seconds, with new security checks to confirm payee details.
SEPA Instant Payments and Verification of Payee are transforming how customers send and receive money, making payments faster and more secure.
Payments in seconds, 24/7
Banks and payment service providers in Ireland have recently rolled out SEPA Instant Payments, enabling personal and business customers to make or receive a euro payment within 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, on any day of the year. Customers get confirmation within 10 seconds of making a payment that it has been received by the payee. This marks a major step forward in providing faster and more secure payment services to Irish consumers.
Extra layer of security
Alongside instant payments, a new service called Verification of Payee (VOP) is being introduced for SEPA Instant and standard SEPA payments. VOP works by automatically checking that the name of the person or business a customer intends to pay matches the actual name on the recipient’s account. This added layer of security helps ensure that payments are going to the right recipient, providing customers with greater control and confidence when making payments.
One in five adults has accidentally transferred money or been scammed
into transferring money to the wrong person or business.
What customers should do
Customers are encouraged to check that their existing payee names match the actual name on their bank account. For example, any payees listed using descriptions like ‘rent’ or ‘creche’ should be updated to the correct account name. When making a payment, customers will be advised if there is a match, close match, or no match, and can then choose to proceed, correct the name and retry or cancel the payment.
Addressing consumer concerns
These changes come about as research conducted by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) shows that almost three-quarters of people in Ireland worry about transferring money from their account to the wrong person or business, whether it’s online, on mobile or in branch. One in five adults has accidentally transferred money or been scammed into transferring money to the wrong person or business. The introduction of SEPA Instant Payments and VOP reflects a broader effort across Europe to modernise payment infrastructure and protect consumers, enhancing the speed, security and convenience of electronic payments, reducing fraud and strengthening consumer protection.
