Corporate and business iPKO biznes customers can now both receive and send instant euro transfers

PKO Bank Polski is the first bank in Poland to offer institutional customers the full range of instant euro payments through KIR’s Euro Express Elixir service. Corporate and business customers using the iPKO biznes system can now both receive and send instant euro transfers. This means greater convenience and more effective liquidity management for PKO Bank Polski customers.

The service is aligned with the development of the European payments market. EU regulations require payment service providers offering standard SEPA transfers to make euro transfers available to customers in real time, and an increasing number of institutions already meet this standard. For Poland’s largest bank, this is another step towards integration with the European payments infrastructure and a tangible enhancement of its offering for customers making euro transactions.

Faster and more convenient euro payments

With the expansion of the service, PKO Bank Polski’s business customers gain a faster and more convenient way to make euro payments. The implementation also covers all of the bank’s foreign branches in Germany, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia that serve corporate customers. Euro Express Elixir complements the existing standard SEPA transfer offering, giving customers a choice between standard and instant payments. In practice, this means funds can be transferred to a recipient in euros without having to wait for clearing sessions.

“We are the first bank in Poland to offer institutional customers the full range of instant euro transfers. We are consistently expanding our payment services offering for businesses and responding to the growing importance of euro transactions. Extending Euro Express Elixir to include outgoing transfers gives our customers greater flexibility and enables them to manage liquidity even more efficiently in international transactions. The implementation, carried out in cooperation with KIR, also covers our foreign branches, strengthening our capabilities in handling cross-border transactions and confirming the scale of the bank’s operations,” says Ludmiła Falak-Cyniak, Vice President of the Management Board at PKO Bank Polski.

National infrastructure, European standard

Euro Express Elixir is the Polish implementation of the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme, which forms the basis for instant transfers within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). KIR is responsible for maintaining and developing the service and, as its technology operator, provides secure and reliable real-time transaction processing. The service ensures full compliance with the pan-European SCT Inst scheme and interoperability with payment service providers operating within SEPA. Its 24/7/365 availability means that funds reach the recipient instantly, regardless of the day of the week or time of the transfer.

“Instant euro payments are becoming part of everyday life within SEPA and, as a standard, are particularly valued by companies and institutions, which gain additional opportunities through their banks to manage liquidity and transfer funds across borders. KIR is building infrastructure that enables Polish banks to offer this standard securely and without interruption. We are therefore pleased that Poland’s largest bank has expanded its Euro Express Elixir service,” says Piotr Alicki, President of the Management Board at KIR.