In parallel, CaixaBank, which has become the first bank in Europe to obtain EPC’s Request-to-Pay homologation certificate, is preparing to soon launch the first commercial service that will facilitate companies the online and instant management of customers’ unpaid bills through Request-to-Pay messaging.

Request-to-Pay allows companies and individuals to request instant payments from their customers or counterparties online, digitally and without friction. This new type of instant “pull” payment (the process is initiated by the recipient of the payment) complements current instant credit transfers, which represent the “push” payment (the payment is initiated by the payer).

Spanish banks have been advocating the adoption of this new European standard for some time. They are working with Iberpay to become certified and incorporate the standard in their services in the coming months. This will help to create a critical mass of users, enabling the widespread adoption of this new functionality and the development of new instant and digital payment solutions.

As in the launch of instant credit transfers in 2017, the Spanish banking sector is once again at the forefront in the development of new digital, instant and 24x7 payment services for itscitizens and companies. CaixaBank was also the first entity in Europe to carry out the first transaction under the SEPA instant credit transfer scheme when it was launched.