Despite pressure from the European Union, the price of instant transfers still does not drop in France. On the contrary: some banks have implemented a pricing model that can cause the price to explode. Explanations.
Instant transfers in all banks and at the same price as traditional SEPA transfers : this is the prospect opened up by a legislative proposal published at the end of October by the European Commission . The latter, in fact, has decided to crack down: 5 years after the launch of this new means of payment, considered the keystone of future European sovereignty in terms of payments, its use remains confidential: barely one transfer out of 10 in Europe and only 3% in France, according to figures from the Banque de France dating from April 2022.
There is no need to look far for the main reason for this delay in switching on: while the traditional transfer is systematically free when initiated on the web or mobile, the instant transfer remains the most often paid . Most French banks have, in fact, chosen to pass on to users the costs of setting up the new means of payment. In defiance of their interest: the instantaneous transfer, in fact, brings innovations in the field of online payments, bill payments, transactions between individuals, etc. Innovations whose dissemination is hampered by this pricing policy.
Admittedly, most users can now use Paylib between friends free of charge , an interbank payment service between individuals based on instant transfers. But it is very far from covering all possible use cases.
No tariff shield for instant transfers
There is worse: not only is the average price of instant transfers not falling in France, but it is even tending to increase . According to our pricing study, which compares the prices charged in January 2022 with January 2023 (1) , the unit price of an instant transfer initiated on the web or mobile will increase, on average by 3.78% (from 0.79 euro to 0.82 euro). That is beyond the 2% tariff shield promised by retail banks.Of course, this increase will essentially be borne by Crédit du Nord customers: with the merger of their bank with Société Générale, the price of instant transfers for them will increase from 0.50 to 0.80 euros. Nevertheless: the trend is still not downward.
On the contrary: some banks have found a trick to increase the cost of instant transfers: invoicing by amount (2) . Clearly, the price of the transfer increases at the same time as the amount transferred. 36 brands, out of the 129 monitored by MoneyVox, now use this pricing model.
The CCSF Banking Rates Observatory (3) , in its 2022 report, observed the phenomenon more closely. He found that this pricing model actually made it possible to increase the bill .
According to the Observatory, instant transfers of less than 300 euros cost an average of 0.78 euros. The price goes up by 9% (0.85 euro) for transfers between 300 and 1,000 euros. Beyond that, the cost soars in establishments that have opted for differentiated pricing:
1.18 euros from 1,000 to 1,500 euros;
2.86 euros from 1,500 to 5,000 euros;
2.89 euros from 5,000 to 15,000 euros;
7.95 euros from 15,000 euros to 100,000 euros.
The instant transfer situation is not new. Banks are often very creative when it comes to making users bear the cost of certain services. It is also to limit this trend that the European Commission has chosen the path of regulation. However, she still has a bright future ahead of her. The Community legislative rhythm being what it is, it will be necessary to wait, at best, for 2025 so that the legislative proposal becomes a binding regulation.
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