he European banking industry has implemented the SCT Inst scheme to support a pan-European instant payment. Within this scheme, funds are made available to the creditor within seconds. The financial risks for these transactions in the interbank sphere are managed by the settlement system between the related debtor and creditor banks.

In a White Paper approach, Berlin Group has analysed how to use SCT Inst for the reconciliation and settlement of card transactions by extending the processes and formats used for SCT Inst to the requirements of settling single card transactions directly through the infrastructure by changing the today’s pull mechanism between the acquirers of card transactions and the issuers of cards. The White Paper aims to progress further thinking in the Berlin Group work on meeting the vision of European regulators regarding the usage of SCT Inst as the new normal for mass payments in a transparent way towards the European payments industry.

The White Paper analysis describes the use of SCT Inst for the reconciliation and settlement of card transactions within different technical scenarios. This document then offers to banks and processors technical models detailed enough to be used for studies on potential implementation efforts and potential synergies with related standardisation and implementation projects. The White Paper is not delivering a technical standard or a detailed implementation feasibility analysis on its own.