As from today, September 19th, 
Immediate bank transfers can be made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The definition of 'immediate,' in this instance, is an impressive ten seconds.
The Bank of Portugal announced that the new payments system is live and it’s up to individual banks whether or not they to sign up to the system.
"The Interbank Clearing System (SICOI) - a payment system, managed and regulated by the Bank of Portugal, which processes all the daily individual and company payment operations in Portugal – now allows the processing of immediate transfers," the Bank stated today.
The central bank says that adherence to this system is optional on the part of financial institutions, "so that initially, not all institutions active in the Portuguese retail payment services market will have this solution available to their customers."
However, the Bank anticipates "a gradual increase in coverage and breadth over subsequent months, both at the level of the participating institutions and the segments and channels in which the service is made available."
The new system was developed in accordance with new European requirements which called for an end to needless days in processing electronic payments.
