The Cyprus Bankers' Association has announced that from Thursday 9 January, all interbank and cross-border transactions will be completed in just 10 seconds.
The service will be available 24 hours a day and will apply to all banks in Cyprus and the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).
Customers will be able to receive instant payments from any bank in Cyprus or the SEPA zone much faster than traditional bank transfers," the association said.
Standard transfers are currently processed in one or two days. The new system will allow funds to be transferred from the payer's account to the recipient's account in as little as 10 seconds, regardless of the country of origin. The initiative is in line with the European Regulation on Instant Payments, which is already in force. Banks must meet key implementation deadlines of 9 January 2025 and 9 October 2025.
Banks will be required to modernise their electronic systems to include enhanced security measures to prevent errors, detect fraud and identify suspicious transactions," the association said.
The Payee Verification function is expected to be implemented by 9 October 2025. It will ensure that payers have the legal right to confirm that the account number or IBAN matches the name of the intended payee before finalising the payment. In addition, banks will be able to offer additional services to improve the customer experience. For example, offering a mobile app that allows instant transfers using only the recipient's phone number or email address instead of the IBAN.
It is worth noting that banks in Cyprus are currently studying the possibility of creating a specialised platform, which they plan to launch by mid-2025. The regulation also stipulates that banks cannot charge higher fees for instant payments than for standard transfers. Fees for instant payments will remain at the same level as for existing transfer methods.
From January 2025, payment service providers (PSPs) will have to check customer databases daily for compliance with EU sanctions lists. Cyprus is ready for the new pan-European rules on the regulation of digital assets, which come into force on 1 January 2025. This was assured to President Nicos Christodoulidis a month ago by the head of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Yorgos Theocharidis.