4th of August.
Poles are open to new digital payment solutions and readily use them in their everyday life. The suite of innovative solutions is going to be complemented with instant EUR transfers (SEPA Instant Credit Transfer – Euro Express Elixir) from the KIR (National Clearing House). Santander Bank Polska is the first bank to launch the pilot service.

Polish consumers value in particular the benefits offered by instant payments such as speed, mobility, 24/7 access and security.

SBP customers will be the first to use the new service and receive instant EUR transfers

Santander Bank Polska is the first bank connected to the new KIR service and whose customers can now receive EUR instant transfers. The bank is working on making instant outgoing euro transfers available – in the first instance for corporate customers using the One Trade Portal service.

– We want to provide our customers with the widest possible array of services that make their everyday life or running a business easier. Euro Express Elixir is yet another novelty in our offer that supports digital everyday life and speeds up financial processes. We are introducing the instant transfers in euro in cooperation with KIR in stages - currently customers can use incoming transfers. We are working to make outgoing transfers available to them too. We hope that our excellent payment offer will make us stand out in the market, says Agata Nowakowska, Payments Area, Santander Bank Polska.

SEPA Instant EUR transfers can be made 365 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day

The new KIR solution works on the basis of communication with the TIPS (TARGET Instant Payment Settlement) system provided by the European Central Bank and enables settlements of payments compliant  with the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme.

The biggest advantage of Euro Express Elixir is that EUR transfers are made immediately and the service is available all year round, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Moreover, no additional steps or  contracts are required to make the instant transfers.

– The new solution from KIR is confirmation of Poland’s strong position in the European ecosystem of payments. While working on EUR instant transfers, we had in mind current trends of the European financial market, as well as the expectations of our key partners such as Santander Bank Polska. Once again, KIR introduces a product that meets the needs of consumers and entrepreneurs who are increasingly used to instant digital services, which also applies to payments. When undertaking the Euro Express Elixir project, we combined our experience in handling payments in  euro with knowledge about PLN instant payments, said Piotr Alicki, the President of the Management Board, Krajowa Izba Rozliczeniowa S.A.

Euro Express Elixir implements the functionalities of the SCT Inst scheme to ensure consistency with the requirements of the European Payments Council (SCT Inst operator) as well as to make sure it is compliant with other systems and pan-European coverage. The maximum value of a single transfer set by banks and in line with SCT Inst cannot exceed EUR 100 thousand. It is assumed by default that it takes up to 10 seconds to execute one transfer. The fee paid by customers for the execution of the transfer is specified by each participant bank in their schedule of fees  and charges. KIR does not collect any fees directly from end customers.

The new solution provided by KIR is an equivalent of the Express Elixir system which has been operating for 11 years and supports instant transfers in PLN. Last year alone KIR settled 227.56 m transactions totalling PLN 147.31bn
 

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