SEB: instant payments are seeing exponential growth

Swedbank joining the system of instant payments has allowed most of the domestic payments be transferred in real time.

‘As little as a month ago, only SEB Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Latvian branch of Citadele, and the Finnish branch of Nordea had joined the instant payments system in this region. However, these banks alone helped make 600 instant payments per day in Estonia. Now that Swedbank has also joined the system, SEB clients make 22,000 instant payments per day on average and the percentage of domestic instant payments is up to 94% of the total of SEB instant payments,’ Kristiina Jäetma, the project manager of SEB Estonia instant payments, commented on the rise of instant payments.

Altogether, over 1,000 European banks have joined the system. New members of the system are published once a quarter, which means the next lists will be revealed on 20 November 2018 and in April 2019.

Instant payments are applied in Estonia as of November 2017. Clients of SEB can make instant payments via online banking and mobile applications. Instant payments are done in real time and 24/7, including on weekends and holidays, and can involve up to 15,000 euros. Wider distribution of instant payments would produce more opportunities for new payment solutions and offer even more alternatives to cash.

Applying the instant payment system is voluntary for European banks and the provider of the payment service must be prepared to process payments around the clock.

More Estonian banks are expected to join the system in November.

Additional information about instant payments

Additional information

Julia Piilmann
Communication Manager
Marketing and Communications Division
SEB Bank

Phone number +372 665 5340
GSM +372 5124 808
address Tornimäe 2, 15010 Tallinn
e-mail julia.piilmann@seb.ee