SCT Inst and OCT Inst – Complementary Systems

Instant payments have fundamentally changed payment transactions in SEPA countries. For euro countries, SCT Inst (SEPA Instant Credit Transfer) and, since the end of 2023, OCT Inst (One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer) are the central schemes for real-time euro payments. Both enable payments to be made in a matter of seconds, but differ significantly in terms of scope, area of application and processes.

Comparison of systems: focus and differences

SCT Inst is the established SEPA scheme for real-time transfers entirely within the SEPA area in Euros. It offers end-to-end processing and requires mandatory verification of the payee (VoP). This scheme is particularly suitable for fast national and cross-border payments within SEPA.

OCT Inst extends the scope to cross-border payments, where only the euro leg within SEPA is processed immediately. The other (non-euro) leg may be outside SEPA and uses its own clearing processes. OCT Inst supports international real-time transfers with currency conversion, but has no VoP obligation to reduce complexity. The maximum transaction amount for OCT Inst is limited to EUR 100,000.

Practical example: Spain

In 2024, more than 60 Spanish banks went live with Iberpay as their central service provider and implemented international instant transfers with OCT Inst – one year ahead of the official EU rollout in 2025. Spain is thus setting standards for the implementation of international instant payments and demonstrating in practice how OCT Inst creates added value.

Number of participants must be increased

The European Payment Council (EPC) recently published documents highlighting the differences between the OCT Inst (One-Leg-Out Instant Credit Transfer) and SCT Inst (SEPA Instant Credit Transfer) payment schemes, including an infographic and a detailed guide. This is primarily intended to provide payment service providers (banks) with a quick overview of operational and procedural differences.

The publication also addresses cases of misuse in which PSPs use SCT Inst inappropriately for international transactions, which violates SEPA regulations, and promotes the correct adaptation of OCT Inst for transparent, fast and compliant global payments.

If you are a financial institution seeking support with the technical implementation of OCT Inst or SCT Inst, we look forward to hearing from you.