ECB confirms instant payments regulation drove sharp uptake in 2025

The European Central Bank’s 2025 annual report documents the effect of the Instant Payments Regulation on euro area adoption, providing the first official backward look at the regulation’s initial impact.

The ECB’s report, published May 4, confirms that the requirement for euro area payment service providers to offer both send and receive capability for instant credit transfers produced a measurable shift in volumes during 2025. While the report does not break out granular transaction figures in the summary, it frames the regulation as a catalyst for infrastructure readiness across member states that had previously lagged.

With the regulation’s receive mandate already in force and the send obligation having taken effect, the ECB’s assessment provides the first institutional validation that mandating instant payments moves the needle. For payment processors and banks still investing in back-end upgrades, the report reinforces that the direction of travel is settled – the remaining question is how quickly instant payments become the default rail for retail and corporate transactions in the euro area, rather than a premium option.

Editorial note: The ECB’s annual report is a primary source confirming the practical effect of the Instant Payments Regulation – important evidence for infrastructure investment decisions and for the broader debate about mandated versus market-led adoption.

Sources: Annual Report 2025 — European Central Bank

Albania’s central bank data shows digital channels now dominate payment flows

Bank of Albania data reveals that digital channels have overtaken physical ones for payment transactions, with open banking services going live for the first time in early 2025 and work beginning on an instant payments system.

The Albanian Daily News reports that the Bank of Albania’s latest figures show digital payment channels now handle the majority of bank payment volumes – a threshold crossing for a market that has historically been cash-heavy. More notable for the European payments landscape is the operational detail: the first open banking transactions under Albania’s transposition of PSD2 took place in early 2025, and the central bank has begun work on a domestic instant payments system.

Albania is not yet an EU member state, but it is an accession candidate actively aligning its payments regulation with the EU acquis. The sequencing is instructive. The country adopted PSD2’s framework through its 2020 law on payment services and is now layering on open banking and instant payments infrastructure in parallel – compressing a timeline that took EU members the better part of a decade. For infrastructure vendors and payment networks active in south-east Europe, this represents a market in active build-out. For policymakers, it offers a case study in how accession candidates absorb EU payments regulation ahead of membership.

Editorial note: A small market, but the story illustrates how EU payments regulation is shaping infrastructure development beyond the bloc’s current borders – relevant context for firms with south-east European strategies.

Sources: Digital Channels Dominate Bank Payments — Albanian Daily News