When the EU Payment Services Directive was transposed into German law, various provisions, including provisions on the execution times for transfers, were revised in the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB). Banks and e-money institutions in particular fall under the term “payment service provider”. Under section 675s of the BGB, the following time limits have been applicable since 1 January 2012 for the execution of transfer orders by the payment service providers of customers making transfers:

• 1 business day for transfers in euro within the EEA,
• 2 business days for transfers in euro that are ordered using a (paper-based) payment form,
• 4 business days for transfers within the EEA that are not made in euro,
• 5 business days for transfers that are not in euro and that are ordered using a (paper-based) payment form
• There are no time limits for transfers outside the EEA.

The payment service provider of the customer making the transfer order must ensure that the transfer amount is received by the payment service provider of the payment recipient in due time. In principle, the payment service provider of the recipient is required to credit the transferred amount to the recipient’s account without undue delay.

As a rule, there may be no deviations from the deadlines above to the customer's disadvantage (section 675e (1) of the BGB; for exceptions, see section 675e (2) sentence 2, section 675e (3) and (4) of the BGB).

Business days are key for determining the time limits for credit transfers. These are the days on which all those involved in the execution of the transfer are carrying out the business that is needed for this (section 675n of the BGB). Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and days on which banks are not open for business in Germany (such as Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve) are not business days. Days that are not considered business days are therefore not taken into account when determining the time limits for transfers. The period in which a transfer must be executed generally begins on the day on which the customer’s payment order reaches their payment service provider. However, if the payment order does not reach the payment service provider on a business day, the payment order is considered received on the following business day.

Example for transfers in euro within the EEA: The customer asks their payment service provider to make a transfer on a Friday. The payment service provider must receive the transfer by Monday and not by Saturday. For transfers in euro made on paper, the transfer must be executed on the Tuesday.

Payment service providers and their customers may also agree on a point in time after which incoming payment orders cannot be executed on the same day (cut-off time). This applies irrespective of whether the payment order was issued online or on paper. These payment orders are treated as if they had been received on the following banking day (section 675n (1) sentence 3 of the BGB). The majority of payment service providers have made use of this and have set out a cut-off time in their terms and conditions or special terms for payment transactions. In most cases, the cut-off time is between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

This is why several days may pass between the moment the transfer is ordered and the moment the recipient receives the money on their account in the case of transfer orders issued before the start of the weekend or public holidays without going beyond the statutory period for the execution of transfers.

Example for transfers in euro within the EEA: The customer instructs their payment service provider to execute a transfer on a Thursday evening after the cut-off time. The payment service provider must receive the transfer by Monday and not by Saturday.

It is possible for a transfer to be delayed. The customer may request their payment service provider to demand that the recipient’s payment service provider credits the payment amount to the recipient’s account, as if the transfer had been duly executed. The customer may be entitled to further compensation for losses resulting from the delay. However, payment service providers may limit the amount up to which they are liable to EUR 12,500 for losses resulting from delays in their terms and conditions. This possibility to limit liability does not apply if the payment service provider acts deliberately or with gross negligence. Whether claims for damages can indeed be asserted is to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Consumers can contact theof the dispute resolution entities associations concerned.

For information on the crediting of amounts transferred to a recipient’s account, please consult "With what value date is my bank required to credit incoming transfers?"