The Bank of Finland has published payment statistics showing that instant payments became more common in 2025 as the Instant Payments Regulation was phased in across the euro area. In the second half of 2025, 79 million of 645 million credit transfers to Finland and abroad were instant payments, equal to 12.3% of transactions, up 3 percentage points from the second half of 2024. The increase followed requirements for euro area banks to receive instant payments from January 2025 and to send customers’ instant payments from October 2025. Usage by value remained limited. Instant payments accounted for 5.3% of the EUR 1,898 billion total value of credit transfers in the second half of 2025, up 1 percentage point from the first half of the year, and only EUR 8 billion of the EUR 401 billion that Finnish banks sent abroad was instant, or 2.1%. Most instant payments in Finland are SEPA instant credit transfers. Since October 2025, banks have also had to provide payee name verification that warns customers if the entered payee name does not match the account holder. There is no longer a regulatory cap on instant payment amounts, although payment service providers and customers may set their own limits. The next semi-annual payment statistics release is scheduled for 10 December 2026.
Bank of Finland2026-06-04
Bank of Finland reports instant payments rose to 12.3% of transfers in the second half of 2025 but remained 5.3% by value
The Bank of Finland reports that instant payments grew to 12.3% of all credit transfers in the second half of 2025, following phased implementation of the euro area Instant Payments Regulation. By value, instant payments remained limited at 5.3% of total credit transfer value and 2.1% of cross-border transfers, with most transactions processed as SEPA instant credit transfers. Since October 2025, banks must provide payee name verification for instant payments, and there is no longer a regulatory cap on instant payment amounts, although providers and customers may set their own limits.