Swiss launch instant payments scheme
2:22 am Wednesday, August 21st, 2024
ZURICH (Reuters) -Switzerland has moved closer to becoming a cashless society after it launched its instant payment scheme, which allows fund transfers in a matter of seconds, the Swiss National Bank and financial infrastructure operator SIX said on Wednesday.
Instant payments are credit transfers that make funds available in the recipient’s account within 10 seconds of a payment order being made rather than waiting for days for the cash to clear.
Around 60 financial institutions are now able to receive and process instant payments, covering more than 95% of Swiss retail payment transactions, the SNB said, after the scheme was launched on Tuesday.
In the coming months, further banks will announce similar services, the SNB said, with all financial institutions in Switzerland expected to be on board by the end of 2026.
“This market launch represents a further important milestone and reflects the collective stakeholder commitment to the future of cashless payments in Switzerland,” the SNB said.
While traditional payments are still possible, the central bank expects instant payments to become established in the medium term, the central bank added.
The SNB and SIX began the project in November 2023, to catch up with Europe and the United States which have had instant payments since 2017 and last year respectively.
Instant payments interbank reduce settlement risk as the debit and credit are instantaneous and final, while both parties have an up to date account balance at all times, making planning and budgeting easier.
The speeding up of payments could also boost economic development, as companies can more rapidly reinvest the money they receive.
(Reporting by John Revill, Editing by Miranda Murray and Louise Heavens)
