Crédit Agricole Commences Instant Payments In Italy

The Italian operation of Crédit Agricole has introduced its instant payment functionality for current account users via a partnership with SIA, the FI said in an announcement on Monday (Oct. 29).

Crédit Agricole’s faster payments tool will allow both consumers and businesses to make payments of up to €15,000 (about $17,000) regardless of the time of day or day of the year. The functionality aligns the bank with the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme (SCT Inst), an initiative from the European Payments Council designed to accelerate payments across the Eurozone.

According to its announcement, Crédit Agricole is offering real-time payments by using the SIA EasyWay platform, which connects the bank to EBA Clearing’s RT1 real-time payments infrastructure. SIA noted the focus of its EasyWay solution is to promote adoption of instant payments across the Eurozone, and to facilitate banks’ ability to offer faster payment services to their clients. According to reports, the platform also enables banks to link into RT1 and TIPS, expected to roll out by the end of the year.

Crédit Agricole customers can access real-time payments capabilities via the bank’s desktop and mobile online banking platforms.

“The development of the collaboration with Crédit Agricole Italia represents a further step forward in SIA’s positioning as the technological partner of reference for the main European banking groups in the field of advanced payment services,” said SIA Financial Institutions director Roberta Gobbi in a statement. “Italy thus confirms its place among the most dynamic countries in the adoption of instant payments, currently made available by over 1,000 payment service providers present in 12 Eurozone countries.”

“Since we are a proximity bank and, at the same time, a group with an ever-increasing digital vocation, we believe that the relationship with our customers is based on the development of innovative products and services that are easy to use even when on the move,” stated Crédit Agricole Italia Banking Group Head of Product and Customer Marketing Filippo Corsaro.