Three questions on instant bank transfers as they become free in France
Understand the new system, its limits, and risks
Free instant transfers are now available in France, but there are some limits and risks
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Instant bank transfers are now free in France, after previously costing around €1 each, due to new European regulation.
Instant transfers became free on Thursday, January 9 due to a revision on European regulation of March 13, 2024 coming into force. They enable users to transfer money from their account to someone else’s bank instantly.
This is opposed to the ‘traditional’ form of bank transfer, which is free, but takes around 48 to reach the recipient’s account.
European regulations state that instant transfers can be done at any time of day, any day of the week, including at night and on Sundays, and the money must be transferred to the recipient’s account within 10 seconds.
It is also a separate service to other online instant transfer alternatives, such as Lydia, PayPal, and Paylib (recently renamed Wero).
The new rules apply to transfers between French bank accounts and those in other Eurozone countries.
Read also: Instant money transfers to be available for free in France from this week
Read more: Instant money transfers now possible between French banks with just a phone number
How much was the charge before?
The charge depended on the bank, but typically cost around €1 each.
The exceptions were online-only banks, Banque Postale, and Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne, which had already stopped charging for the service.
For example:
Are there any limits for free instant transfers?
Yes, the amount transferred in this type of transaction still cannot exceed €15,000 in France (with the limit set by banks), even though regulations state the legal maximum in the Eurozone is €100,000.
But while the Banque de France said in December 2024 that instant transfers made up only 6.4% of all credit transfers in 2023, this figure is expected to rise now that the service is free.
“In everyday life, this method of transaction will certainly be much more widely used,” said Anna Meylacq to BMFTV.
Are there any risks to instant transfers?
The main risk is that the transaction cannot be cancelled or recalled, due to its immediate nature.
On its website, the Banque de France states: “It is not possible to cancel an instant transfer once it has been received by your bank, due to the irrevocable nature of transfers.”
The anti-fraud and anti-scam Signal-Arnaques platform recommends that people only reserve this type of transfer “for friends and family or for accounts to which you are used to transferring money”, and for small sums, to minimise the risk of losing larger sums to scammers.
For larger sums, the advice is to stick to conventional transfers.
“Your bank will check the name and IBAN of the recipient before validating the transaction,” said Ms Meylacq. “That's why it takes at least 24 hours for the money to reach your account [with non-instant transfers].”
