Starting from today and thanks to SIA’s digital platform, all holders of a current account at one of the Banks in the Group can make and receive instant credit payments directly from their computer, smartphone or tablet using Nowbanking in the desktop, app and mobile responsive versions.

With this new initiative, Crédit Agricole Italia Banking Group reaffirms its innovative vocation by offering distinctive payment services that allow its private and business customers to transfer up to €15,000 per individual transaction, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in line with the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme of the European Payments Council (EPC).

The Group’s new instant payment service is managed via the innovative SIA EasyWay platform that enables real-time exchange of transactions in a secure and protected manner with EBA Clearing’s RT1 panEuropean instant payments infrastructure.

SIA EasyWay was created with the aim of accelerating the process of adoption of instant payments and of all the other SEPA payment and collection instruments by banks and the other European Payment Service Providers (PSP) while minimizing investments and simplifying the operative management. In addition to granting access to EBA Clearing’s RT1 system, the platform is also ready to manage instant payments on TIPS, the new service of the Eurosystem (the ECB and national central banks in the Eurozone) the launch of which is expected by the end of 2018.

“ Since we a re a proximity b ank and, at the same time , a Group with an ever increasing digital vocation, we believe that the relationship with our customers is based on the development of innovative products and services that are easy to us e even when on the move ”, commented Filippo Corsaro, Head of Product and Customer Marketing at Crédit Agricole Italia Banking Group. "We are pleased to be able to contribute actively to the spread of th is new payment method, both nationally and internationally, and to be among the first Bank ing Groups to offer Instant Payments to its customers. With the launch of the new service we have completed another piece of our strategic plan, 100% human and 100% dig ital."

"The development of the collaboration with Crédit Agricole Italia represents a further step forward in SIA ’s positioning as the technological partner of reference for the main European banking groups in the field of advanced payment services", said Roberta Gobbi, Director of SIA’s Financial Institutions Division.

"Italy thus confirms its place among the most dynamic countries in the adoption of instant payments , currently made available by over 1,000 payment service providers present in 12 Eurozone countries".