Module 5 · Banks, cards and payments
Moving money: transfers, instant payments and apps
How transfers, instant payments, direct debits and standing orders work, how to check who you are paying, and where payment apps and open banking fit in.
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In this lesson
- Tell apart a SEPA transfer, an instant payment, a direct debit and a standing order
- React correctly to each Verification of Payee result before you pay
- Explain why instant payments cannot be called back and how open-banking consent works
Lea, 34, is about to pay a €4,800 invoice to a supplier who has emailed new bank details. Her banking app shows a warning: the name does not match the account. The money would arrive in seconds, and that is exactly the problem.
Transfers inside Europe
, the Single Euro Payments Area, is one set of rules for euro payments in 41 European countries in 2026. It includes all EU countries plus others such as Norway, Switzerland and the UK. A euro transfer from Slovenia to Spain works like a domestic one. You need only the payee’s IBAN. For SEPA euro payments, a bank may not insist that you also give the , the code that identifies a bank internationally.
- A standard transfer arrives by the end of the next business day at the latest.
- An arrives within seconds, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Since 9 October 2025, every euro-area bank that offers transfers must also let you send instant ones. They may not cost more than a standard transfer. EU countries outside the euro area follow in 2027.
Outside SEPA, for example to the US or India, transfers usually travel through banks in between, take a few days and cost more. The biggest cost is often hidden in the exchange rate.
Check the name before you pay
Since October 2025, euro-area banks must offer free . Before you confirm a transfer, your bank checks the name you typed against the name on the account.
| Result | What to do |
|---|---|
| Match | The name fits. Still check the amount and the reason for paying. |
| Close match | The bank shows the real name. Pay only if you recognise it. |
| No match | Stop. Contact the payee on a phone number you already know, not one from the email or invoice. |
| Check not possible | Be careful and confirm through a channel you trust. |
If you pay after a warning, you usually carry the risk. And a “match” confirms only the name, not that the request is honest.
Instant payments are final. If you mistype an IBAN, your bank is not liable, but it must make reasonable efforts to recover the money.
Payments that repeat
- A lets a company pull money from your account, for example for electricity or a phone contract. You give it permission, called a mandate. For SEPA direct debits you can get a refund within 8 weeks, no questions asked; with no valid mandate, within 13 months.
- A is the opposite: you tell your bank to push a fixed amount on a schedule, such as rent on the 1st of each month. Only you can change it.
In Slovenia, many bills come on a UPN payment slip with a QR code that you scan in your banking app.
Apps, wallets and open banking
A phone wallet stores a token instead of your real card number. The payment still runs through the card network, and your card’s protections apply. Payment apps such as Flik in Slovenia let you pay with a phone number or email; behind them is an ordinary instant payment.
means that, with your consent, licensed firms can read your account data, such as a budgeting app, or start a payment from your account. You always approve this in your own bank’s app or website. A legitimate app never asks for your banking password, and you can withdraw consent at any time.
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