Instant payments are moving from a regulatory requirement to everyday financial infrastructure. In short, the question is no longer whether SEPA Instant is coming. It is already here. What matters now is how it actually changes the way businesses move money.
That was the focus of The Payments Butterfly Effect, a webinar hosted by ClearBankand The Payperson 19 May. Karine Martinez, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Wallester, joined Tristan Kirchner, CEO Europe at ClearBank, Nacho Garcia, Managing Partner at Nurabal, and financial journalist Joy Macknight to discuss what instant payments mean for banks, PSPs, merchants, and the wider European payments ecosystem.
“The shift has already happened, but the story is far from over,” Martinez said during the discussion. SEPA Instant is becoming mandatory not only for banks, but for other financial institutions as well. For Martinez, this makes the next phase less about regulation itself and more about behaviour.
When it comes to SMEs, Martinez pointed to cash management as one of the most practical areas of impact. Instant payments matter “especially for SMEs, for cash management, from a treasury perspective,” she noted. Faster settlement can change how smaller businesses think about liquidity, supplier payments, and day-to-day financial control.
Kirchner, Garcia, and Macknight explored how higher transaction limits could open the door to new use cases and business models, while putting further pressure on legacy payment systems. Another theme was strategic planning: how banks and PSPs should think about investment decisions as instant payments become a more permanent part of the European payments field.
The Real Test Starts Now
The discussion also returned to the question of whether instant payments are changing behaviour in real life. Martinez linked the shift to the expectations created by companies such as Amazon and Uber, where speed and immediacy became part of the customer experience. The challenge for incumbents is whether they can respond in the same way.
“For incumbents, the real question is how they comply,” she said. “Did they just check the boxes, or is it really working well?”
That distinction sits at the centre of the instant payments debate. Compliance may move the market forward, but the real test is whether banks, PSPs, merchants, and fintechs can turn instant payments into better business processes and better customer experiences.
For those who missed the live session, the recording is now available.
