The proposal stipulates that the cost to the consumer of these systems should not exceed the rest of the transfers
The European Commission wants to force banks to offer instant payment services such as Bizum. The Community Executive on Wednesday presented a regulation that aims to regulate these transactions at the European level and extend these types of payments to the entire European Union. In addition, the document states that these services must have a price equal to or lower than the rest of the transfers.
Since solutions like Bizum came into use, their use has increased but steadily and currently accounts for 11% of all block transactions. For Brussels, immediate payments are the key to improving the competitiveness and strategic autonomy of its economy. Therefore, the rule is intended to promote and accelerate its use, and to remove the existing obstacles.
According to official European sources, the use of these systems in some EU countries is very limited due to the high costs they entail for the consumer, which can amount to 30 euros. The regulations force banks to offer instant payments at the same price as regular transactions. In this way, if a bank charges three euros for a transfer, the direct operation should cost the same.
Another aspect that slows down the use of instant systems is consumers’ fear of possible fraud. “There is a tendency to think that it is more dangerous than a regular transfer, but we have not seen a link between the increase in these payments and fraud,” European sources point out.
Brussels is also making progress so that these payments are compatible with the current regime of individual sanctions against people linked to the war in Ukraine. Because it is such a fast transaction, the entities hardly have time to check if the recipient is on the European blacklist. If there is a match, the payment will be automatically declined. “However, this system leads to a high number of false positives and 10% of transfers are rejected as a result.” To remedy this, the European Commission has committed to regularly send the updated list of sanctioned persons to the bank.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
