Instant money transfers to be available for free in France from this week

Instant monetary transfers from French accounts will be free in most cases from January 9, as new rules for banks in the eurozone come into effect.

These transfers – which pay the amount into the designated account in around 10 seconds as opposed to traditional transfers which could take days – must be offered at the same rate as the cost of a standard money transfer. 

This is free in the vast majority of cases, although at some banks classic transfers still incur costs.

Prior to this rule, many banks did offer instant transfers for a price, with most charging a fee of around €1 each time.

The option will not be automatic with those making the payments via their smartphone application or online space on their bank’s website being prompted to make the payment instantly if they wish.

However, there are warnings over a new proliferation of scams that are set to increase alongside the changes, including from community scam watchdog Signal-Arnaques.

Beware of errors and scams when making transfers

Users who opt to make instant transfers should note that, unlike traditional payments, these requests cannot be reversed.

This means that a payment made in error to the wrong person, or one made to scammers during a phishing attempt, cannot be cancelled. 

“The instantaneous nature of payments requires additional security [and vigilance]. Once the money has been sent, it is impossible to get it back,” said Clément Bourgeois, a banking expert at the Banque de France, to Signal-Arnaques. 

Your bank is not required by French law to refund you for a payment made in error. 

“This is because the bank is obliged to execute transfer orders according to the information you provide. This means that the bank is only liable in the event of a data entry error or technical error [at their end],” the Banque de France states. 

Note that banks are however required to do as much as possible to help you recover the funds, even if they are not obliged to refund you. This can include contacting the recipient’s bank (and that bank asked to contact the recipient) if transferred to the wrong person’s account.

Read more: France is worst country in Europe for bank card fraud: how to protect yourself

How to minimise risks

To minimise the risk of losing money through these transfers, advice from Signal-Arnaques is to only use instant payments with relatives or close friends who you know will return the money if you make an error.

You may wish to only make such payments to accounts to which you frequently already send money as the information for these accounts will already be set up in your account, and double-check the amount you are sending. Many send a small sum when setting up a new account and check with the recipient this has been received before then transferring the full amount.

Be wary if a person is pressuring you to make a payment via instant transfer as they may be doing so to prevent you from cancelling the payment after making it. 

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