The entry of 2025 will bring the first major modification of the year. Citizens will be able to see how bank transfers They are going to undergo changes in Spain starting today. This is a modification that aims to adapt to the new reality in which we live, where digitalization is the order of the day.
In this case, the change occurs thanks to new regulations approved by the European Parliament that obliges financial institutions to ensure that immediate bank transfers have the same cost as ordinary transfers. This means that these types of movements could become free.
In this sense, it is worth remembering that, until now, ordinary bank transfers, that is, those that occur between 24 and 48 hours, have been free. However, The immediate ones have had a cost of between six and twelve euros. Now, this does not mean that from now on both transfers will become free, since some banks have taken the opportunity to raise the price of both and, therefore, match them at the same price.
The immediate ones may not cost more than the ordinary ones
The European Union has approved through a regulation that immediate transfers between banks must have the same cost as ordinary transfers from 2025. The text, which was approved in February 2024 by the Plenary Session of the European Parliament with 599 votes in favor, 7 against and 35 abstentions, seeks to “avoid waiting for retail customers and companies, especially SMEs, as well as improve security of transfers”.
According to Regulation 2024/886 of the European Parliament and of the Council, “To create an integrated market for immediate transfers in euros, it is essential that such transactions are processed in accordance with a common set of rules and requirements.” The measure seeks to encourage the use of immediate payments in euros by all citizens and companies that have a bank account. in the European Union (EU) and in the countries of the European Economic Area.
To this end, the text ensures that “the commissions charged by a payment service provider to payers and beneficiaries in relation to the sending and receiving of immediate transfers will not be higher than the fees charged by such payment service provider in relation to the sending and receiving of other transfers of equivalent type“.
The trick that banks could use
Although the entry into force of the rule may cause the cost of all transfers to be zero, the truth is that banks could take advantage of the literal meaning of the regulation, establishing a cost for ordinary transfers, which would cause all transfers to have a cost.
At the moment, some spokespersons for the main banks in Spain, such as BBVA, Sabadell, Caixabank or Banco Santander, They have confirmed that transfers will maintain the same cost as until now. However, we will have to wait to know the policy of all the banks.
This Thursday it comes into force
Despite being a measure approved last year, The European Union granted a sufficient period to financial entities to apply the new regulationswith the aim that they can adapt their systems and offer this service free of charge to all their clients.
The date chosen for start to apply this regulation has been on January 9, 2025so starting today citizens will be able to make immediate transfers for free.
What are the conditions of the new regulations
Starting today, Immediate transfers will reach their destination in a maximum of ten secondsand the person sending the money will receive information that the operation has been carried out correctly at the time, being a guarantee of the service provided.
Another reason why the regulations were designed was fraudulent operations. Therefore, The standard includes measures to improve the detection and prevention of fraud so that the money does not reach the wrong recipients. Specifically, Entities will have to verify that the name of the recipient of the transfer matches the name provided by the issuer..
What is an immediate transfer?
Immediate transfers They are a type of banking transaction that allows you to transfer money from one account to another instantly, that is, in real time. Unlike other types of transfers that can take hours or even days (such as traditional bank transfers), immediate transfers They allow funds to be available almost immediately in the recipient’s account.