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Spanish banks to offer free instant transfers from January
Banks across Spain will have to comply with these new EU regulations from January 9
With 2025 already shaping up to be a pretty pricey year thanks to increases in the cost of everything from electricity to groceries, some significant savings will come from a rather unexpected source: the banks.
Starting on January 9, a new EU regulation will come into effect, forcing all banks in Spain to offer instant money transfers at a cost equal to or lower than that of ordinary transfers. This means that for most current account holders, immediate transfers will be free.
What’s more, ‘instant’ will actually mean instant: according to the European Union directive, the transfer will have to be completed in 10 seconds or less.
With this initiative, the European Commission seeks to promote the use of instant payments among EU citizens and businesses, increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of the European financial market.
Currently, although ordinary transfers are usually free and take between 24 and 48 hours to complete, instant transfers often involve commissions that vary depending on the entity, something that discourages their use.
A spokesperson for Banco Santander emphasised that most of the bank’s clients currently do not pay for ordinary transfers, assuring that this policy “is not going to change.” Starting January 9, these clients will also benefit from free immediate transfers.
BBVA representatives similarly confirmed changes to their transfer fees, stating that for individual clients, “immediate transfers made via remote banking (web and app) will be free from 9 January, while in branches, the rates for immediate and standard SEPA transfers will be the same.”
The use of instant transfers is actually on the rise in Spain despite the prohibitive cost, but this is not the case in the rest of the EU.
In 2023, 54% of banking operations in Spain were immediate, according to data from Iberpay, but in the rest of Europe where the charges are higher, the EC estimates that there are still 70 million accounts without access to this option.
With this new regulation, all EU banks are expected to offer instant transfers at no additional cost, making them the same as regular transfers. This means that users will be able to send and receive money in real time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without worrying about additional fees.
Image: Pixabay
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