Citi (NYSE: C) has announced the launch of Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Instant Payments in Europe, “further increasing the bank’s global Instant Payments offering.”
The launch will provide clients with the ability “to pay to and receive from 36 SEPA countries instantly.”
The offering allows SEPA Credit Transfers to be made “within seconds, 24/7 and funds available to recipients immediately.”
Payments can be made to and received “from SEPA Instant participating banks located anywhere within the 36 country SEPA zone.”
The new offering provides clients with “a single point of access through Citi’s platforms, CitiConnect® for Files, CitiConnect® API and CitiDirect®, for executing Instant Payments.”
With standardized connectivity platforms, clients will benefit from “a scalable solution that can facilitate rapid global expansion within a consistent architecture.”
Mark McNulty, EMEA Head of Payments and Receivables, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi, commented:
“With our latest launch of SEPA Instant Payments in Europe, we have further expanded our market-leading Instant Payments proposition for payments to and from the SEPA zone. Clients will be able to transact instantly with immediate settlement of funds. This capability can support new business models and ensure our clients can operate effectively in an increasingly real-time 24/7 digital economy. An exciting development and yet another milestone for our payments business.”
Businesses will be able to use SEPA Instant Payments for “a wider range of use cases to drive business growth and efficiency, including on-demand payments.”
The continued growth of ecommerce business and direct-to-consumer business models “make Instant Payments more relevant than ever.”
The new solution offers corporates greater choice and flexibility “in payment methods, with a frictionless and real-time payment instrument.”
Elena Gomez, Global Head of Domestic Payments, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi, said:
“We are seeing an increasing number of countries advance their digital capabilities and introduce local instant payment schemes. Citi has built a globally consistent solution that provides uniform connectivity to all key domestic instant payment systems. We have taken a single point-of-entry approach, utilizing API connectivity, to enable clients to make payments in multiple markets, and access key real time services such as payment status or balance enquiries, as well as instant notification of incoming credits and outgoing debits.”
In addition to SEPA, the bank supports 29 other markets globally for Instant Payments. Citi’s Instant Payments capabilities “can now reach over 60 countries around the world.”
As noted in the update, Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) enables their clients’ success by “providing an integrated suite of innovative and tailored cash management and trade finance services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations across the globe.”
Based on the foundation of the industry’s largest proprietary network with banking licenses in over 90 countries and globally integrated technology platforms, TTS continues “to lead the way in offering the industry’s most comprehensive range of digitally enabled treasury, trade and liquidity management solutions.”
Citi, which claims to be the leading global bank, has “approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions.”
Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with “a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.”