Dutch banks have set themselves the task of building the infrastructure within the next four years to enable instant payments.
The "ambition" was agreed at the National Forum on the Payment System, with banks and other stakeholders promising to work together to make sure that by 2019 payments will be credited within five seconds. Carried out through the Dutch Payments Association, the plan will require a completely new infrastructure, which fits into the Single Euro Payments Area.
Says a statement: "This plan is fully consistent with the digitisation of society, changing customer expectations and a growing need to be able to pay for anything, anywhere and without any delay. It will not be long before transactions can be processed in real time and 24/7, including during weekends and on holidays."
Singapore and Australia are among the countries following a lead taken by the UK in building a faster payments system, while the US is gradually inching towards upgrading its own antiquated infrastructure. Meanwhile, in March EBA Clearing launched a task force to lay the groundwork for a Europe-wide instant payment processing service it hopes to have up and running by 2018.