Banks will no longer be able to charge fees for immediate transfers, a technology that is already available but for which they do charge costs that will contribute to delaying the adoption of this practice in Portugal (which is below the European average). Thanks to a new European regulation, from the beginning of next year immediate transfers should become the norm and not the exception.

A new European regulation will become general, from January 9, 2025Immediate and free transfers in European banks, including Portuguese ones, replacing traditional transfers that take a business day (or more) to reach the recipient’s account.

From that date, all banks must be able to receive immediate transfers. At the moment, the technology only exists in about half of the banks operating in the country (although most major banks offer this option). However, opting for an immediate transfer usually involves a commission that normally varies between 0.50 euros and 2.50 eurosaccording to the prices of each bank.

If in the euro zone, on average, 15.5% of transfers are immediate, in Portugal this percentage is around 5.2%, a reality that should change as soon as commissions are eliminated. Strictly speaking, the rule defines that banks may not have different prices for normal and immediate transfers. In other words, since normal transfers are usually free, this means that banks must also make immediate and free transfers.

This is one of the new features that will come to payments in Portugal in the near future. In the coming weeks, bank customers will be able to search for the mobile phone number (of the recipient) when they want to make a transfer, thanks to a new platform created by the Bank of Portugal, whose name will not be revealed until the coming weeks. weeks – and which banks will be available this summer.

Transfers? You won’t need the IBAN, just the mobile number (and you will never be wrong about the recipient again)

Another feature that will go into effect soon, on May 20 (with no adaptation period), is the recipient confirmation service on all channels, including Applications Is Banking Home.

The Portuguese made more payments in 2023

The Bank of Portugal published this Thursday the Payment Systems Report, which states that in 2023 the Portuguese made more payments than in 2022. On average, 11.6 million retail payments were made per day, worth two billion of euros, according to data from the Bank. From Portugal.

Electronic payment instruments continued to be preferred by consumers in Portugal, according to the supervisor, who indicates that despite the commissions that are (still) charged) the greatest growth was that of immediate transfers. These increased by 33.0% in quantity and 38.0% in value compared to 2022, “despite continuing to have a reduced weight in total operations,” states the Bank of Portugal.

Cards continued to be the most used payment method on a daily basis and oh no contact accounted for more than half (53%) of card purchases. The Bank of Portugal indicates that the use of no contact Card payments continued to grow, 31.1% in number and 32.7% in value. The same happened with online card purchases, which increased by 35.3% and 33.7%, respectively.

“The levels of fraud in the use of electronic payment instruments in Portugal remain very low,” says the supervisor.