Payments
The Payments module covers the CNB’s innovative projects and initiatives related to the future of payments. These mainly include the instant payment system, its further development and efforts to promote the broad practical use of this advanced infrastructure – for example, by removing barriers or involving additional participants. This module also covers topics such as central bank digital currencies, which are currently the subject of widespread debate – and not only in Europe.
Instant payments
Instant payments enable one-off transfers in koruna between clients of Czech banks within just a few seconds.
The Czech National Bank, which operates the system, currently processes an average of 1.65 million of these instant transactions each day. A key factor behind this growth is the record-high availability of the service. Although it was only launched at the end of 2018, it is now accessible to 99% of bank clients on the Czech market. Instant payments are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023* | 2024 | 2025** | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market coverage of instant payments | 41% | 87% | 90% | 91% | 90% | 90% | 99% |
* A one-percentage-point drop due to the collapse of Sberbank
** As of 9 April 2025
Before the introduction of instant payments, clients had to wait for money to be credited to their accounts. Today, the money arrives within seconds – at night, at weekends, even on public holidays. Instant payments have become the standard. “Only a few years ago, payments took two days or more. We have made great progress – we have built the instant payments infrastructure and continue to invest in it,” said CNB Governor Aleš Michl.
Instant payments are rapidly growing in popularity among individuals and businesses. They now account for 40% of all interbank credit transfers made by clients – compared to less than one-third a year ago. CNB statistics show that while the number of standard credit transfers is flat at around 2.5 million per day, the number of instant payments is rising rapidly.
Chart – Average daily number of instant payments
(June of given year)
Instant payments are increasingly being adopted by retailers, who use them as a lower-cost alternative to card payments. The potential for future growth is immense, given the rapid pace of technological advancement – alongside cards and cash, retailers are increasingly offering customers new payment solutions based on instant payments.
Growing competition in the payments sector benefits the entire Czech economy. For customers, it means greater convenience and a wider choice of payment instruments. For retailers, it means savings on card transaction fees and cash handling costs.
More about instant payments
- All you need to know about CNB instant payments
- Detailed information on the CERTIS interbank payment system, including statistics and a list of participants
- Instant payments in Czechia: Adoption and future trends (I. Trubelík, T. Karhánek, S. Malovaná, A. Michl) – article on the development of the instant payments system in the Czech Republic.
The CNB is also working on further developing the instant payments environment. As the bank of the state, the CNB – which maintains accounts for ministries, municipalities, regional authorities and the tax authorities – also started accepting instant payments in November 2025. It is now thus possible to pay taxes, fees, insurance contributions and other state contributions within seconds – on weekdays, weekends and public holidays. “We are responding to the needs of the public and businesses, making it easier and faster for them to meet their obligations to various public authorities and institutions,” said CNB Bank Board member Karina Kubelková. As regards other projects in this area, the CNB is preparing – in cooperation with commercial banks – to enable instant processing for bulk payments, for example.
Central bank digital currencies
Central bank digital currencies can generally be defined as digital money that constitutes a direct claim of the holder on the central bank. They are denominated in the official unit of account of the respective country (in the case of the Czech Republic, the koruna). CBDCs are a new, digital form of money issued by central banks. Like today’s cash, they can be used as a medium of exchange (for payments) and a store of value (for saving).
CBDCs therefore essentially extend access to central bank non-cash money.
At present, this access is available only to commercial banks, in the form of money held in accounts at the central bank. In the case of a retail (or universal) CBDC, such access would also be granted to other entities – such as individuals and businesses.
Among the major central banks, the European Central Bank (ECB) is currently actively working on a digital currency project. In October 2025, it announced the completion of a two-year preparation phase for the digital euro, with pilot testing potentially starting in 2027.
The Czech National Bank has been examining the issue of central bank digital currencies since 2016. In February 2021, a working group on CBDCs was established, with all relevant CNB organisational units represented. Its main task is to monitor and analyse ongoing developments in the area of CBDCs, focusing on the potential implications for the CNB and the Czech Republic – including analyses of whether, and under what conditions, it would be reasonable to consider the issuance of a CBDC by the Czech National Bank.
The CNB Bank Board has not yet taken any decision regarding the possible issuance of a Czech CBDC. According to representatives of the working group, any potential introduction of central bank digital money in the Czech Republic should be preceded by a thorough assessment of its necessity and added value under the specific domestic conditions, as well as a public debate on such a step. A necessary precondition for the CNB to issue CBDC would be a corresponding change in legislation, as the current legal framework does not allow for the issuance of CBDCs in the Czech Republic.