OCT Inst: The pan-European opportunity to deliver enhanced cross-border payments
As demand for faster, cheaper, more accessible and transparent cross-border payments accelerates, the pressure to deliver is mounting.
Annick Moes, Head of Industry Issues and Cooperation & Head of Communications, explains why OCT Inst offers a compelling solution – and why payment service providers (PSPs) should start preparing now for its implementation.
The launch of OCT Inst hands payment service providers (PSPs) in Europe an opportunity to deliver
upscaled cross-border services to their customers – who are increasingly demanding better service
levels for urgent payments, like remittances: rapid settlement, 24/7/365 availability as well as cost
efficiency and reliability. Based on the European Payments Council (EPC)’s One-Leg Out (OLO) Instant Credit Transfer Scheme, OCT Inst leverages existing infrastructure to enable instant processing of the euro leg of a cross-border transaction.
Enhancing cross-border payments has become a global priority, thanks to initiatives like the G20’s
Roadmap, launched in 2020. The roadmap sets ambitious targets to improve the cost, speed, access
and transparency of cross-border payments by 2027. With this deadline fast approaching – and the
rollout of instant payments in Europe and beyond driving the demand for instant rails to facilitate
cross-border flows – it is time the industry pivoted from ambition to execution.
The benefits of OCT Inst
To help market participants assess which initiatives would best advance the G20 targets, the EBA
carried out a survey in 2024, covering 13 cross-border payment initiatives with a European footprint.
Among the options, OCT Inst proved most promising, given its ability to leverage existing SEPA
Instant building blocks and, in turn, support the industry’s capability to build reach.
According to the survey responses, the OCT Inst Scheme is seen as supporting the delivery of cross-border and cross-currency propositions for customers with greater speed, transparency, traceability, and cost certainty – all available 24/7/365. A further strength lies in user experience: OCT Inst leverages familiar SEPA standards, processes and interfaces for both sending and receiving legs. Equally important, it is straightforward for PSPs to implement, reusing existing models, infrastructure and tools, while remaining fully compliant through the use of SEPA rails – ensuring a level playing field for all participants.
Together, these features translate into tangible value and diverse cross-border use cases for
consumers, corporates, and institutional clients alike – from ease of use and cost efficiency, to
enhanced certainty, control, and reliable low-cost services.
Unlocking these benefits is more straightforward than it may seem. In May 2024, Iberpay and Banco
Santander processed the first instant international transfer under the scheme, with the transaction
initiated and completed in different currency areas. By November 2024, all Spanish banks had
unanimously implemented OCT Inst. EBA CLEARING, for its part, has implemented OCT Inst at a pan- European level on its RT1 real-time payment system. With these first OCT Inst-compliant payment systems in place, OCT Inst can be deployed efficiently and at scale.
Time to act on OCT Inst
So, how can PSPs take this progress and run with it? Success will rest upon collective action and the
development of pan-European practices that guarantee upscaled cross-border experiences. Equally
crucial is the creation of a pan-European frontrunner group, to set out how critical mass can be
achieved. Such measures are already underway, with 10 major multinational banks planning to build
up reach for OCT Inst payments via RT1 in line with the G20’s end-2027 targets.
If meaningful progress is to be made ahead of this deadline, implementation of OCT Inst must be
prioritised by PSPs within the next two years. The time to act is now.
For more information, please see the full report: Get ready for OCT Inst!
