Consumer rights explained: What’s best on a banking app: standard payment, instant pay or Zippay?
Q: When transferring money on my banking app, I’m given a choice between “standard” and “instant” payments, and now Zippay too. Aside from speed, what’s the difference? Are any cheaper or safer?
Joe, Louth
In simple terms, all three options do the same job, they move money from your account to someone else’s. The real differences are how fast and easy they are to use.
A standard payment known as a SEPA Credit Transfer is the traditional option. It usually arrives the next working day but can take longer if you send it late in the day or over a weekend. You’ll need the person’s IBAN and name. What you pay (if anything) depends on your bank account fee structure, although, most banks in Ireland currently offer these payments for free.
An instant payment is much quicker, it arrives within seconds, any time of day or night, including weekends. Like standard payments, you still need an IBAN. Instant payments cost no more than what your bank charges you for standard payments so in most cases they are free to use.
Zippay is the newest option. It is an in-app mobile payment introduced in March and is more about convenience than speed. It works in a similar way to the person to person payment apps like Revolut. Instead of an IBAN, you just use a mobile number to send money. It’s designed for everyday things like splitting a bill or paying a friend back. It’s currently free to use and works between customers of AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB but will be available to other financial institutions in the future.
In terms of payment limits, your bank sets the caps for standard and instant payments, while Zippay has a daily sending limit of €1,000.
On safety, they’re all built to be secure, but speed can work against you if you make a mistake. Once a payment leaves your bank account, it can be difficult to get it back, so it’s worth double checking the details and being cautious of unexpected or apparently urgent requests. Banks do have built-in protections to help you, for example before you send money using standard or instant payments, Verification of Payee checks the name of the person or business you are sending money to and alerts you if it doesn’t match the bank’s records. Zippay will show you the masked name of who owns the account you’ve selected. For example, if you’re paying “John Smith”, you’ll see ‘Jo** Smi**’ owns the account.
If you are tricked into sending money (known as push payment fraud), banks will investigate and work to recover funds where possible. Customers also have the option to raise a complaint with the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman if they are not happy with how their case is handled. Looking ahead, new EU payment rules are expected to come into effect in 2028, and these are intended to give consumers further protection against push payment fraud.
