From today, SEB and Swedbank clients will be able to make instant payments, and by the end of the year so will clients of LHV Pank. More than 100,000 interbank payments a day in Estonia will be made within ten seconds rather than a couple of hours, round the clock and throughout the year.

Deputy Governor of Eesti Pank Madis Müller said that bank clients are entering a new age, when payments can be made in real time. “Rapid interbank payments will allow new payment solutions to be created. In future it will probably be possible to use instant payments in shops or over the internet to pay for goods and services. I hope that the other banks operating in Estonia will join the instant payments system soon and offer their clients high-speed payments”, he said.

People and companies in Estonia make an average of 137,000 domestic payments between different banks each day. Instant payments have until now only been available within individual banks, but in future payments will move just as fast between SEB, Swedbank and LHV Pank. Payments will also move like lightning at weekends and on national holidays.

Additional information:
Eva Vahur
Eesti Pank
Tel: 668 0965, 5330 0619
Email: [email protected]
Press enquiries: [email protected]