The Payments Butterfly Effect: How Instant Payments Reshape the Ecosystem

Takes place on 19 May 2026 07:00 AM PDT / 10:00 AM EDT / 04:00 PM CET

Elena Irimia

05 May 2026 / 5 Min Read

Instant payments are set to trigger a fundamental shift across the European payments ecosystem.

On 19 May, Tristan Kirchner, CEO Europe at ClearBank will be joined by Joy Macknight, leading financial journalist, Catrine Rhenberg, founder at Nurabal, and Karine Martinez, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Wallester, to unpack what’s changing and the challenges for banks, PSPs and merchants, what it means for your organisation, and the practical steps to stay ahead.

You’ll hear expert perspectives on:

Why SEPA Instant’s rapid growth won’t happen in isolation, and how volume is likely to shift from cards, direct debits, and other rails.
What instant payments mean for e-commerce and account-to-account payments, including the role of open banking and initiatives like EPI’s Wero wallet.
How higher transaction limits could unlock new use cases and business models.
Where instant payments could accelerate the decline of legacy payment rails, and what may replace them.
How banks and PSPs can use strategic scenario planning to prioritise investments and stay competitive.

Join us to explore how instant payments could reshape the industry, and leave with clear actions you can take now to get ahead of what’s next.

Agenda

Why SEPA Instant’s rapid growth won’t happen in isolation, and how volume is likely to shift from cards, direct debits, and other rails.
What instant payments mean for e-commerce and account-to-account payments, including the role of open banking and initiatives like EPI’s Wero wallet.
How higher transaction limits could unlock new use cases and business models.
Where instant payments could accelerate the decline of legacy payment rails, and what may replace them.
How banks and PSPs can use strategic scenario planning to prioritise investments and stay competitive.

Presenters

Joy Macknight

Financial Journalist (Moderator)

Karine Martinez

Head of Strategic Partnerships

Nacho Garcia

Managing Partner at NURABAL

Tristan Kirchner

CEO Europe at ClearBank

Keywords:

SEPA European payments ecosystem SEPA Instant Account-to-account payments Payment Service Providers ClearBank Financial ecosystem shift

Countries:

World

The Paypers is a global hub for market insights, real-time news, expert interviews, and in-depth analyses and resources across payments, fintech, and the digital economy. We deliver reports, webinars, and commentary on key topics, including regulation, real-time payments, cross-border payments and ecommerce, digital identity, payment innovation and infrastructure, Open Banking, Embedded Finance, crypto, fraud and financial crime prevention, and more – all developed in collaboration with industry experts and leaders.