Digital, Innovation, Payments
Trustech 2025: Instant payments, trust and the next phase of Europe’s payments roadmap
Published on 10 December 2025
Instant payments are becoming the new normal in Europe. At Trustech 2025 in Paris, a dedicated roundtable explored what this shift means in practice for banks, payment service providers, merchants and consumers. Discussions focused on the new EU framework for instant payments, the role of Verification of Payee, the impact of wallet initiatives, and the security challenges that come with speed and irrevocability. The ABBL was represented by Ananda Kautz, Member of the Management Board, who took part in the roundtable “Instant Payments: What is the New Deal for Europe’s Payment Landscape?” alongside Thibault de Barsy (The Payments Association EU), Maria Tereza Cavaco (Banco de Portugal) and Dr Cathie-Rosalie Joly (Neolexya). The session was moderated by Andréa Toucinho (Partelya Consulting).
Summary
Luxembourg’s implementation: from regulation to operational delivery
A central topic of the discussion was the rollout of the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) and the industry’s readiness to deliver instant payments across a broader set of channels and use cases.
From a Luxembourg perspective, the implementation represented a major operational milestone. Beyond the technical go live, the move to instant payments at scale requires banks to support round the clock availability, manage real time liquidity, ensure resilient infrastructures, and continue to meet existing compliance obligations within tight execution timeframes.
The roundtable also highlighted the implementation of Verification of Payee (VoP) as an important milestone for trust and usability. VoP introduces IBAN and name matching to help reduce misdirected payments and strengthen protections against certain fraud patterns.
In Luxembourg, the ABBL supported the banking community as an industry coordinator throughout this transition, with a focus on operational readiness and consistent market communication.
The ABBL played a central coordination role, supporting PSPs with guidance, an information toolkit to help corporates and consumers prepare, and comprehensive awareness initiatives.
Ananda Kautz
Member of the Management Board of the ABBL
A coordinated effort across Europe
The discussion recognised the importance of European level coordination to support a consistent rollout. Particular reference was made to the work of the European Payments Council (EPC) in supporting the VoP deployment at scale across Europe and helping market participants navigate the transition.
What comes next: reporting, wider scope, and adoption in daily payments
While the first implementation milestones are now behind the industry, participants agreed that the roadmap is continuing, with several key steps ahead.
These include new IPR reporting obligations, broader implementation across additional market segments, and further uptake in everyday use cases. Adoption at the point of sale and in e commerce was highlighted as a meaningful indicator of how instant payments will translate into daily consumer and merchant behaviour, with market initiatives such as Wero expected to contribute to further adoption.
Security and fraud: the trust challenge of instant payments
Security was a major part of the discussion. Instant payments offer speed and convenience, but their near immediacy and practical irrevocability also make them attractive to fraudsters.
The roundtable noted that fraud tactics are evolving, with increasing reliance on manipulation of the payer through social engineering, impersonation and phishing based techniques. This reinforces the need for safeguards that combine prevention tools and strong awareness among consumers and corporates.
The discussion also referred to the broader European response, including VoP and the ongoing development of cross border fraud detection tools, as well as forthcoming regulatory developments.
Luxembourg awareness initiatives
In Luxembourg, online fraud awareness remains a cross sector priority. The roundtable referenced the launch of the national awareness campaign “Don’t Click!” and the platform cyberfraud.lu, which aim to strengthen digital vigilance through practical guidance and clear messaging.
ABBL follow up
The ABBL continues to support members on the implementation and adoption of Europe’s payments framework, including coordination, information sharing and engagement with relevant stakeholders, with a strong focus on trust and operational readiness.
For further information on ABBL work related to instant payments and fraud prevention, please contact our Member Relations team.