Real-Time Payments vs. EBICS: What Treasury Teams Need to Know in 2025

Introduction - The future of payments is a fork in the road

For years, EBICS has been the workhorse of European corporate payments. It’s reliable, secure, and familiar to every treasury team handling large-scale batch transactions.

But in 2025, real-time payments are rewriting expectations. Instant settlement, 24/7 availability, and regulatory mandates around SEPA Instant mean speed is no longer optional.

The question for treasuries isn’t whether to use real-time payments, but how they coexist — or compete — with EBICS in daily operations.

What is EBICS?

EBICS (Electronic Banking Internet Communication Standard) is a well-established protocol for secure data exchange between corporates and banks, widely used in Germany, France, and beyond.

• Designed for batch processing (e.g., payroll runs, supplier batches)
• Supports large volumes of structured files (like SEPA XML formats)
• Offers strong authentication and security
• Well-suited to scheduled and high-value payments

EBICS is a proven backbone for treasury, but its batch nature means settlement speed is tied to bank cut-offs and clearing cycles.

What are Real-Time Payments (RTPs)?

Real-time payments, often delivered via SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) in Europe, allow funds to move within seconds — 24/7/365.

• Payments are cleared and settled instantly
• Available even outside banking hours
• Growing adoption across the EU due to Instant Payments Regulation (2025)
• Ideal for time-sensitive transactions like supplier prepayments, marketplace payouts, or gig economy wages

RTPs change expectations: no more waiting for next-day settlement, no cut-off deadlines.

EBICS vs. Real-Time Payments — Head-to-head

Why this debate matters now

• Regulatory push: From October 2025, banks in the EU must offer SEPA Instant — making RTPs universal.
• Customer expectations: End users expect instant settlement; corporates can’t lag behind.
• Treasury strategy: EBICS is not going away, but treasuries must rethink which rails to use when.
• Technology integration: APIs and ERP connectors make real-time payments easier to embed directly into workflows.

Practical treasury scenarios

• Payroll: EBICS remains the best option for scheduled, high-volume salary batches.
• Marketplace payouts: Real-time payments create competitive advantage by paying vendors instantly.
• Supplier settlements: Treasurers may run routine supplier batches over EBICS but switch to RTPs for urgent or discount-linked payments.
• Liquidity management: Real-time data feeds and RTPs allow immediate visibility into balances across entities, whereas EBICS still involves waiting for end-of-day statements.

Challenges & considerations

• Cost structure: Real-time payments often carry higher per-transaction fees — economics matter at scale.
• Legacy processes: Many ERPs are designed for batch file exports. Bridging to APIs requires middleware or new modules.
• Compliance & fraud: Real-time speed reduces room for manual checks. Built-in fraud prevention (like VoP) is critical.
• Change management: Treasury teams need to learn when to use EBICS vs. RTP, aligning policy and workflows.

How BANQR bridges EBICS and RTP

With Cash 365, BANQR integrates both EBICS and real-time payments directly into ERP workflows.

• Dual support: Run high-volume batch payments over EBICS, while leveraging RTPs for time-sensitive transactions.
• Embedded compliance: Fraud Prevention 365 ensures Verification of Payee (VoP) checks are applied in real time.
• API-first design: ERP connectors simplify instant payment adoption without abandoning EBICS.
• Visibility dashboards: Real-time liquidity insights across both rails, so treasury teams can choose the right channel per use case.

Conclusion — It’s not EBICS or real-time, it’s both

Treasury in 2025 is not about replacing EBICS. It’s about balancing the reliability of EBICS with the speed of RTPs.

The winners will be those who can flex between both — running payroll and treasury operations in batches, while delivering instant settlement where it matters.

With tools like BANQR Cash 365 and Fraud Prevention 365, treasuries don’t have to choose. They can embed both payment rails directly into their ERP and stay ahead of regulatory change, operational needs, and customer expectations.