41 Markets, One Payments Area: Where Is SEPA Demand Heading?
SEPA is no longer just a payment solution for the euro area. According to the European Payments Council, the geographical scope of SEPA schemes currently covers 41 countries and territories, including Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova and Serbia.
This expansion matters not only for financial institutions in the countries that have recently joined SEPA. It also creates new opportunities for infrastructure providers, technology partners and fintech companies that can help payment service providers connect to European payment schemes and use them more efficiently.
‘More and more payment service providers need access to SEPA. In my view, this demand will only continue to grow over the next two to three years,’ says Paulius Antonovas.
According to him, growth can be expected both in mature European markets and in countries that joined SEPA schemes relatively recently. In the future, international instant transfer solutions could also provide an additional push, where one side of the payment is executed in euros under the SEPA scheme and the other in another currency.
For Lithuania, this is an opportunity to strengthen its role not only as a place where fintech companies are established, but also as a hub for payment infrastructure and related technology services.
Instant Payments Are Changing Infrastructure Requirements
SEPA expansion is happening together with another major shift: the rise of instant payments. Under Regulation (EU) 2024/886, payment service providers in the euro area must be able to receive and send instant euro transfers. A service that once helped companies stand out is now becoming a basic customer's expectation.
According to the Bank of Lithuania, in 2025, two-thirds of all euro payments executed through CENTROlink were instant payments, while the total number of transactions grew by almost one-third over the year. By the end of the year, 138 payment service providers from 20 countries were using CENTROlink services.
‘In Lithuania, we are already in the instant payments stage. The customer’s expectation today is not that money will reach the recipient on the same day, but that it will be transferred within seconds,’ notes Antonovas.
But the speed seen by the customer is only one part of the story. For a payment to happen in seconds, the underlying infrastructure must work continuously: at night, on weekends and during public holidays. It must also be ready to handle uneven peaks in demand, for example, when large salary payments or other bulk payment flows are processed at the same time.
‘Instant payments mean that infrastructure must be ready to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. At the same time, it must maintain the same level of security and risk management,’ says Antonovas.
This means that speed and capacity are not the only priorities. Proactive monitoring, business continuity, fast incident response, and cyber resilience are becoming just as important.
From Transfer Speed to a More Convenient Payment Experience
As instant payments become a mandatory service, competition in the market does not disappear. Instead, it moves into other areas. For banks and fintech companies, the question is no longer only whether they can offer fast payments. It is how smoothly those payments fit into everyday customer and business situations.
‘The mandatory nature of instant payments means that they become a basic service, rather than a unique market advantage. As a result, competition increasingly shifts to the user experience: how conveniently people can pay each other, shop online, use marketplaces or pay at the point where a service is provided. Banks are moving closer to functionalities already offered by fintech companies, while for the fintech sector this means the need to look for new added value that can help them stand out in the market,’ emphasises Paulius Antonovas.
This shift may be especially relevant for the Lithuanian fintech sector. Mature fintech companies can not only use European payment infrastructure, but also develop solutions for other market participants that rely on it, including:
- integration tools,
- security and monitoring platforms,
- operations management solutions,
- new services for end users.
In other words, standardised instant payments do not leave less room for innovation. They create a common foundation on which companies can build better, more convenient, and more competitive financial services.
CENTROlink’s Role: One Access Point to a Broader SEPA Ecosystem
As the European payments market grows, payment service providers need efficient access to different payment schemes. Some institutions want a clear and simple way to connect to a specific service, so they can focus on their customers and product development instead of managing infrastructure. Others need access to a broader range of payment options through one connection.
CENTROlink, the payment system operated by the Bank of Lithuania, gives payment service providers in the European Economic Area access to SEPA Credit Transfers, SEPA Instant Credit Transfers and SEPA Direct Debit schemes. According to the Bank of Lithuania, banks, specialised banks, credit unions, electronic money institutions and payment institutions licensed in the EEA can become direct participants in CENTROlink.
‘We are an attractive gateway to the SEPA area because we provide several payment services as well as additional services such as Verification of Payee and Proxy Lookup. For a payment service provider, this means the ability to connect to one infrastructure and avoid separate integrations and their maintenance,’ says Paulius Antonovas.
This model can be useful for financial institutions and fintech companies that want access to European payment schemes, but also value simpler integration, technical support and the possibility to expand the range of services they use in the future.
TARGET/TIPS or CENTROlink: How to Choose the Right Access Model?
For instant payments, market participants can choose between different access models. One of them is TIPS, or TARGET Instant Payment Settlement, a TARGET service operated by the Eurosystem. It is used for settling instant euro payments in central bank money and operates around the clock, every day of the year.
CENTROlink customers can access instant payment infrastructure through the system operated by the Bank of Lithuania, while also using other SEPA schemes. Direct access to TIPS may be more relevant for institutions with large payment volumes, strong internal IT teams and the ability to maintain integration and operations themselves.
‘Payment infrastructures such as TIPS require fairly strong competencies in both operations and information technology. An institution must be able not only to implement the connection, but also to maintain it. Therefore, growth in transaction volumes should not be the only criterion when choosing an infrastructure service provider,’ notes Paulius Antonovas.
When choosing between direct TIPS access and CENTROlink, companies should look beyond volume and cost. Integration complexity, support needs and access to several SEPA schemes through one infrastructure are also important factors.
Reliable Infrastructure Is the Foundation of a Growing SEPA Ecosystem
As SEPA expands and instant payments become part of everyday life in Europe, financial institutions and fintech companies have more room to grow across borders. At the same time, expectations are rising. Payments must be fast, but they must also be secure, stable and available at any time.
For Lithuania, this is a strong opportunity. High instant payment usage, an experienced technology community and CENTROlink’s access to SEPA schemes create the right conditions for building services not only for the local market, but for Europe as a whole.
The conversation with Paulius Antonovas shows that the future of payments will not be defined by speed alone. The next stage of competition will depend on resilient infrastructure, a broader range of services and the ability to help customers grow in a more connected European payments ecosystem.
Thank you for the conversation, Paulius!
