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Half a billion instant payments between Dutch banks

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Since the very first instant payment in February 2019, more than 500 million immediate transfers had been made between different Dutch banks by October 2020.

Hand in suit touches luminous 24 hour icon on blue screen, symbolizing payments and services that are always available.

At the launch in February 2019, around 4,000 instant payments were processed per month. By October 2020, this had risen to 32.5 million. “Instant payments have now become the normal way to transfer money in the Netherlands,” says Piet Mallekoote, Managing Director of the Dutch Payments Association. “Companies and payment institutions can now reap the benefits, with faster services and new payment applications in the future.”

Immediate certainty about payment

With an instant payment, the recipient has immediate certainty that payment has been made. The amount is credited to their payment account within a few seconds, including at night, at weekends and on public holidays. Buyers can therefore pay immediately when receiving products or services, while sellers can receive payment immediately upon delivery.

Illustration of an instant payment for a parcel delivery

Netherlands leads the euro area

More instant payments are processed each month in the Netherlands than in any other euro-area country. Over 90% of all individual transfers between different Dutch banks are instant payments. Across the euro area as a whole, including the Netherlands, the figure is roughly 15%. In most other euro-area countries, an instant payment is still a premium payment method, for example available only to business customers or only through mobile payment apps.

ECB aims for full reach throughout the euro area

Instant payments should also become the normal way to transfer money in the rest of the euro area. In the summer of 2020, the European Central Bank stated that it wanted all banks in the euro area to be interconnected for instant payments by the end of 2021. To achieve this, the ECB is modifying its systems for settling euro payments between banks, known as TARGET2 and TIPS.

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