Soon Latvian residents and businesses will be able to perform most transactions within seconds, Swedbank representatives promise. This will be made possible thanks to lightning-fast or electronic transaction system between European banks. Multiple Latvian banks intend to join this system.
Swedbank predicts that Latvian residents will like this, seeing as how they have already gotten used to immediate transactions in their banks. Transactions usually take an hour or a day to process if they are performed on weekends.
Swedbank data also shows that Latvian residents perform few transactions with foreign banks – a mere 1%. 89% of transactions are performed between different Swedbank accounts and 10% – with accounts in other banks in Latvia. In total, nearly 4 million transactions are performed within Swedbank, 400,000 with other banks in Latvia and 22,000 with foreign banks. Even money-wise, the largest transfers are performed within the bank (73%).
“Introduction of lightning-fast transactions will make residents value non-cash transactions more, because after this system’s introduction, we will be able to secure faster transactions not only within our bank, but also for other banks in Latvia and Europe. Of course, residents will only experience changes once the system has been expanded to the largest banks in Latvia and Europe. We expect the process in Europe to commence at the end of November, when banks start joining EBA Clearing infrastructure,” says Swedbank Group payment processing and support office manager Mareks Kovalevskis.
Representatives note that introduction of a lightning-fast transactions will secure faster and more convenient transactions for private clients and businesses. The maximum amount that will be allowed to be transferred using the system will be EUR 15,000. (BNN/Business World Magazine)
