New payment system in the Republic of Croatia, HPB is introducing instant payments to mobile phone number or email

The execution of payment orders which involves the immediate transfer of funds to the payee's account for the customers of Hrvatska poštanska banka is set to become a reality on 29 October 2020. On that day, NKSInst, a new payment system in the Republic of Croatia, developed by the Financial Agency “FINA” and approved by the Croatian National Bank starts to be in full production, kicking off a new era of development of modern payment services.

THE SERVICE AVAILABLE 24/7/365: HPB was among the first banks in Croatia to join a new scheme for instant payments made in kuna and offer its customers the service of conducting payment transactions in almost real time, in 10 seconds at most, and continuously available 24/7/365. Transaction speed and constant availability, along with, as always, maximum security, are precisely the main advantages of the new payment system when compared to the execution of standard payments. In order for the payment order to meet the prerequisites for instant payment, it must be in kuna, the maximum amount is 100,000 kuna, and it must be assigned to a bank that has also joined the instant scheme.

PAYMENTS THROUGH DIGITAL CHANNELS: Instant payments are intended for both individuals and businesses, and access to the service is provided through our digital channels mHPB and Internet banking. HPB is participating in the new payment system both as a payee's bank and a payer's bank.

ADVANTAGES FOR PAYER AND PAYEE: Instant payments allow not only the shortening of the time required for the transactions, but also the possibility of executing them at the moment when it is the most convenient for the service user. It provides the payer with the possibility of the simple fulfilment of the obligation immediately, i.e. at any time, and the payee with the immediate availability of the funds on the account and better liquidity management.

IBAN OR MOBILE PHONE NUMBER: In addition to payments made using an IBAN, payment orders will soon be able to be placed according to additional identifiers such as an OIB, a mobile phone number and an e-mail address, which the user will pre-register in the Register of Account Intermediary Identifiers (“RPIR”). For these options, users will be able to easily register on mHPB and pay in just a few clicks to a specific mobile phone number from their phonebook or by entering an e-mail or OIB instead of the payee’s IBAN. Orders placed in this way will be able to be executed by both regular and instant payment.

HPB LEADER IN INNOVATIVE SERVICES: The application of a new innovative instant payment service that provides the customers with faster and easier financial management is a confirmation of the successful implementation of HPB's digitalisation strategy, further technological progress and dedicated work on the offering of quality to customers that brings new trends in banking and strengthens the Bank's competitiveness.

The first participants in the NKSInst payment system, apart from HPB, are Partner banka and PBZ, and the Croatian National Bank announced that it supports the development of modern payment services and expects other banks to provide interbank instant payments to their customers throughout 2021.

NKSInst ensures that payment transactions are made in line with the standards of SEPA Instant Payment Scheme which is applied for the euro payments in the EU Member States. As of the date of the introduction of the euro in Croatia, the payment system will comply with all the standards set for the euro payments.