Launching the modern digital service, the financial institution will provide even better convenience, excellent experience and payment speed to its clients
23 November 2021
Postbank is the first certified bank in Bulgaria, which is offering to its customers the modern service of instant payments in BGN under the Blink programme of the National Card and Payment Scheme (NCPS), part of Borica AD*. Now the bank’s customers will be able to make transfers of up to BGN 30,000 from account to account (P2P/P2B) for 10 seconds in the bank’s wide branch network. The service is in line with the introduced pan-European SEPA scheme for instant payments of the European Payments Council. The new service is about to be active 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year both via Postbank’s mobile and internet banking channels. With the introduction of the advanced method of payments, the bank again meets the expectations of modern consumers for speed and accessibility of the services it provides, offering the necessary amenities in their dynamic daily life.
“We are constantly striving to introduce innovative solutions that make payments faster, easier and more intuitive, thus providing excellent experience to our customers. Almost everything is done digitally now – consumers are increasingly using online services, shopping and paying in a digital environment. Postbank reports a 70% increase in transactions conducted through our digital channels. In order to respond to the different conditions and the need for even faster services for both our individual and business customers, for several months now, jointly with Borica, we have been working very hard to introduce instant Blink payments. This is a new service for the Bulgarian market with many advantages but speed is the main of them. We will gradually expand the functionalities and channels, and the service is expected soon to be available for our customers via mobile and internet banking 365 days, 24 hours, 7 days a week, including holidays and weekends, and will enable them to make the transactions they want only for a few seconds. This is exceptional convenience and we hope that soon all our customers will use it, saving the most valuable thing – their time”, Postbank commented.
The maximum time for execution of instant payments in BISERA6 is 10 seconds, which include the time from the receipt of the transfer order to the sending of a confirmation request to the recipient’s bank, as well as the time from the receipt of the confirmation of the recipient’s bank to the confirmation of a successfully conducted settlement. The client receives an immediate notification after a successful validation and approval by the recipient’s bank. Only credit transfers in BGN are accepted and direct debits are not allowed, as payments are processed individually, transaction by transaction in real time.
The introduction of innovative solutions is an integral part of Postbank’s business strategy, which is being developed in line with the latest global trends in the financial field. The new Blink instant payment service will be available as a pilot project in the wide branch network of Postbank throughout the country. The financial institution is preparing to offer it also through its digital channels.
“We are good partners with Postbank and we are glad to be part of the pilot companies that not only joined the national payment infrastructure for instant payments, and quickly adopted the service, but are also technologically prepared to offer it to their customers. The speed of the service provides incomparable convenience and enhances customer experience. What is more, payment options are a vital component of the success of any business. Over 2,200 payment service providers in Europe already offer instant payments, accounting for almost 6.5% of total payments, according to the European Payments Council. The service is just entering Bulgaria but we can already see that it is well received by everyone because it the many advantages it provides. Blink payments come with a new, higher level of speed, efficiency, security and control of the payment process”, the team of the NCPS and Borica AD added.
The service will be developed in the future, as the clients of the banks participating in the project will have the opportunity to make payments for seconds in retail outlets, to shop from online vendors, pay their utilities, taxes, fees and e-invoices. Functionalities related to fraud prevention, as well as the fight against money laundering, are also being developed.
Instant payments are regulated as a new type of service in line with the planned changes to the Payment Services and Payment Systems Act. BISERA6 users make instant payment transactions and receive confirmations for payments, as well as any other messages, based on the ISO 20022 standard and the NCSP programme for instant payments through a BGN account, which is harmonized with the SCT Inst scheme of the European Payments Council.
More information about the instant payments service and the full range of innovative products of Postbank is available at www.postbank.bg, as well as in its wide branch network across the country.
*Instant payments in BGN under the Blink programme of the National Card and Payment Scheme, part of Borica AD, can be conducted only between the payment service providers that have joined and are participating in the programme. A list of currently included PSPs is available HERE.
