The year 2024 could close with banking transactions totaling 8 trillion euros, marking an increase of over 5% compared to the previous year. The use of bank transfers, by both businesses and households, has been steadily rising for over 20 years. In 2005, the total transferred amounted to 1.388 trillion euros, with 1.1 million transactions. By the end of 2023, this figure had grown to 7.579 trillion euros, with the number of operations more than doubling to 2.115 million.
In the first half of 2024 alone, bank transfer payments already reached 3.919 trillion euros, spread across 1.081 million transactions, making the projection of 8 trillion euros by year-end highly feasible. These findings come from a report by the Unimpresa Research Center, published ahead of the new EU regulations on instant payments.
From January 9, a European Regulation on instant bank transfers will take effect, requiring all banks in the euro area that already offer standard euro transfers to also accept instant transfers. Moreover, instant transfer fees must not exceed those applied to standard bank transfers.
According to Giuseppe Spadafora, vice president of Unimpresa, this reform is a major step forward in improving economic efficiency in Italy, ensuring faster payments and smoother commercial transactions. However, he warns that additional costs for consumers and businesses must be avoided. Unimpresa is calling on the Antitrust Authority and the Bank of Italy to closely monitor financial institutions to ensure they comply with the new regulations without introducing hidden fees.
“The speed of payments should bring real benefits to the entire economic system, without extra charges that could undermine the advantages of this reform,” Spadafora stated.
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