If you are tired of waiting 2 to 3 working days for the bank to validate your transfer, you can opt for instant transfers for several years. However, this option is chargeable, generally €1 per act. Fortunately, the Banque de France has just announced that this system will soon be free of charge, which currently only represents 6% of French transfers.
Update 02/01/2025: As planned in April 2024, French banks are stopping instant paid transfers. Following new European directives, 2025 completely democratizes this service by making it free for everyone, without exception. Most establishments therefore did not wait for the October 2025 deadline.
The date of free instant transfers
By October 2025, instant transfers will no longer be charged by French banks. A measure from the European Commission which aims to harmonize payment fees within the zone and above all to facilitate banking transactions. The idea is that money moves faster and faster.
Until now, European banks could therefore charge additional fees for each immediate transfer, in sending and sometimes receiving. But since April 8, 2024reception of these streams has become free. Better, from October 9, 2025it will be the same for the show according to Bank of France.
What is an instant transfer?
For those who don’t know, we are talking about a bank transfer that is executed in less than 10 seconds24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The classic SEPA transfer can take several days and is only carried out during office hours. An unparalleled time saving that allows you to process emergency transactions. This reassures the seller, because the transfer can be verified almost immediately, and it is impossible to cancel it. If you sell an iPhone on Leboncoin or your car for example, this is an ideal solution.
If banks lose a small source of income here, the increase in flows should more than offset the decline. There is no doubt that the impact will be felt in all sectors.
Some tips on instant transfers:
- Before October 2025, check the price of instant transfers in your bank.
- Check your bank’s instant transfer limits.
- Double-check the amount and recipient, as instant transfer is not revocable.
An instant transfer order cannot be canceled from the moment it has been received by the payment provider (your bank).
Free instant transfers are therefore only a matter of time, the deadline being eighteen months away. Until then, let’s hope that the main banks get started quickly, such as BNP, Société Générale, Banque Populaire, Crédit Agricole, Banque Postale and other digital players like N26. At Revolut, it’s already free, just like at Boursorama.
