After adopting SCT Inst in 2018, France has seen phenomenal IP growth up 211% YOY — and this is only set to continue, with a 53.7% five-year CAGR predicted.
SCT Inst is based on SEPA credit transfers, which operate 24/7/365. Groupe BPCE was the first financial institution to introduce SCT Inst in France in July 2018. The platform enables customers to transfer money to accounts at participating banks in the network. SCT Inst supports both individual and business transactions, facilitating P2P, C2B, B2C and B2B payments directly between accounts through different channels, including online and mobile banking.
Funds are settled in near-real time, with recipient banks required to credit amounts to their customers no more than 10 seconds after a payment is received. A maximum of €15,000 ($17,183) per transaction is allowed (the regular SCT Inst limit), but the limit can be increased based on bilateral agreement. All major banks in the country are participants, along with many others. SCT Inst transactions are processed by Clearing and Settlement Mechanisms primarily through STET with connections to TIPS and RT1.