These operations, carried out in April and May 2025, are part of a pilot initiative operated in a controlled environment and processed by the Spanish clearing house Iberpay.
The pilot is currently limited to internal participants, allowing the banks to test live RTP transactions in a real-world setting without exposure to the general public. Instant payment rails are being used for the settlement of these transactions.
RTP is a digital payments tool allowing a payee to send a request for payment, which the payer can authorise immediately. Once approved, the transaction is settled instantly, with funds transferred and available to the recipient without delay. The system is designed to operate continuously, 24/7.
The structure supporting this pilot is the SEPA Request to Pay (SRTP) scheme, developed by the European Payments Council. The aim is to establish a common framework for RTP services across the Single Euro Payments Area. This approach is intended to streamline and digitise payments, particularly in areas such as business invoicing, tax payments, and public sector charges, potentially replacing some forms of non-recurring direct debits.
Officials from CaixaBank and BBVA indicated that the project enables both institutions to verify end-to-end operability before the service is introduced to the wider market. The implementation is seen as a way to validate how RTP functions in a live interbank context, with instant payment capabilities forming a critical component of the system’s efficiency.
Spain has already established itself as an important market in Europe for instant payments. According to Iberpay, 55.95% of all transfers in Spain in 2024 were instant payments, significantly above the European average of 19.67%. The company processed more than 3.1 billion transactions in 2024, representing EUR 2.8 trillion in value.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now