EBA Clearing's STEP2 platform processed an average 25.6 million batch SCT transactions per day in March 2026. The March 2026 figure represented a 5.6% decline from the 27.2 million daily average recorded in March 2025. Q1 2026 as a whole averaged 25.4 million SCT daily, approximately 4% below the 2025 full-year mean. STEP2 SDD Core averaged 45.9 million transactions daily in March 2026, an 8.1% increase over March 2025.
The decline in batch credit transfers extends beyond STEP2. STET Deputy CEO Rodolphe Meyer stated in January 2026 that instant transfers represent 20% of all French SCT volume. In Belgium, the share reaches approximately 25%. Poland's KIR reported Express Elixir processed 162.73 million instant transactions in Q1 2026, 13% more than Q1 2025. Batch Elixir declined 1% over the same period to 555.23 million transactions. Express Elixir now handles volume equivalent to 29% of batch Elixir's throughput.
SDD Core remains insulated from this migration because no real-time mandate-based collection scheme exists in SEPA. Batch SCT faces different conditions. The EU Instant Payments Regulation required all eurozone PSPs to offer SCT Inst sending capability from October 2025. Non-eurozone EU member states must follow by July 2027. The continuing expansion of the instant-capable participant base narrows the pool of credit transfers that must route through batch channels.