Banks and payment service providers in the European Union must be able to receive instant payments by January 9.
The European Commission's Instant Payments Regulation has set two deadlines: receiving real-time payments by January 9 and sending real-time payments by October 9.
The regulation also mandates that charges for instant payments cannot exceed fees for Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) transactions.
Compliance and technology challenges remain in terms of fraud prevention protocols and handling the demands of instant payments.