Europe’s Instant Payment Directive

Who doesn’t know the feeling? You transfer money and then wait what feels like forever for it to finally reach the recipient’s account. But this will soon be a thing of the past—thanks to a new EU directive that aims to make payment transactions faster and more efficient for all of us. Banks will be required to comply with these rules, and the best part: instant payments are set to become the standard.

Key Changes at a Glance:

  • Mandatory real-time transfers: Starting in January 2025, banks in the Eurozone must be able to receive instant payments, and by October 2025, they must also support sending them.
  • IBAN-name check: Before a transfer is executed, the system will verify whether the recipient’s name matches the IBAN, reducing fraud and erroneous transactions.
  • No higher fees: Instant payments cannot cost more than traditional transfers.
  • Extended deadlines for non-Eurozone countries: Transition periods until 2027 apply for countries outside the Eurozone.
  • Technical upgrades: Banks must modernize their IT systems to ensure secure, 24/7 transaction processing.

What’s New?

Up until now, the SEPA area (Single Euro Payments Area) allowed for transfers to take a maximum of one business day. Since the introduction of this rule in 2012, it was a significant improvement over earlier standards. However, times are changing, and in a world where everything moves faster, payment systems sometimes lag behind. To address this, the European Union has taken the next step with Regulation (EU) 2024/886—the introduction of instant payments.

Instant payments enable transfers to be processed in real time. Whether it’s a weekday, weekend, public holiday, or the middle of the night, the money will arrive in the recipient’s account within seconds. As of January 9, 2025, all payment service providers in the Eurozone must at least be capable of receiving such real-time payments. By October 9, 2025, they will also be required to offer instant payment transfers. For countries outside the Eurozone, extended deadlines apply until 2027.

Focus on Security and Costs

In addition to speed, there is another innovation that enhances security: the so-called “IBAN-name check.” Before executing a transfer, the system verifies whether the recipient’s name matches the provided IBAN. This significantly reduces the risk of errors and fraud.

There’s also good news regarding costs: banks are not allowed to charge higher fees for instant payments than for traditional transfers. This makes this innovative payment method not only faster but also affordable.

Challenges for Banks and Service Providers

Of course, the transition to instant payments presents challenges. Banks and payment service providers need to upgrade their IT infrastructure to ensure seamless 24/7 transaction processing. Additionally, the swift processing of payments will only be possible if fraud prevention and sanctions screening processes are adapted accordingly.

A Win for Consumers and Businesses

Despite the challenges, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks: with instant payments, the EU is creating a modern, efficient payment landscape that benefits both consumers and businesses. Whether for online shopping, paying invoices, or transferring salaries—the future of payments will be faster, safer, and more convenient.

Now, it remains to be seen how well implementation works in practice. One thing is certain, though: instant payments represent a significant leap forward, bringing Europe closer to the reality of a seamless digital single market.

Disclaimer: This article was created with support from ChatGPT.

Sources:
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/integration/retail/instant_payments/html/instant_payments_regulation.en.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Bluesky Account Verification

In the world of social networks, account verification plays a crucial role in ensuring authenticity and building trust within the community. On the decentralized social media platform Bluesky, this process is particularly innovative: users can use their own domain as their username. But how does this work exactly? In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the steps of account verification on Bluesky.

Why Verify Your Bluesky Account?

Verification through your own domain offers several advantages:

  1. Authenticity: Your domain serves as clear proof of your identity.
  2. Visibility: A personalized username like @yourdomain.com looks professional and stands out from standard handles.
  3. Trust: Users immediately recognize that your account is authentic.

Step-by-Step Guide to Verification

1. Create a Bluesky Account

If you don’t already have a Bluesky account, sign up at bsky.social. During registration, choose a temporary username.

2. Prepare Your Domain

You will need your own domain to complete the verification process. If you don’t already have one, you can purchase it from popular providers like GoDaddy, Namecheap, or IONOS.

3. Access Settings on Bluesky

In your Bluesky profile, navigate to:

  • Settings > Account > Handle > I have my own domain

Bluesky will provide specific DNS information required for verification.

4. Add a DNS Record

Log in to your domain registrar’s dashboard and add a new TXT record with the following details:

  • Domain: _atproto
  • Type: TXT
  • Value: did=did:plc:[Your Specific Value]

This record links your domain to your Bluesky account.

5. Complete Verification

After a few minutes (or up to 24 hours, depending on DNS propagation), return to Bluesky and click Verify DNS Record. Once verified, your handle will display your domain in your profile.

Alternative Method: .well-known Verification

If you prefer not to add a DNS record, you can use a .well-known file instead. Create a text file with the following content:

did=did:plc:[Your Specific Value]

Save this file at https://yourdomain.com/.well-known/atproto-did and initiate the verification process on Bluesky.

Conclusion

Verification on Bluesky is not just a technical process but a statement: it proves that you own your domain and builds trust within the community. For organizations, businesses, and public figures, this feature is a significant asset.

Windows Update Error 0x80070643

For some time now, our systems have been encountering the error 0x80070643 with update KB5034441. After extensive searching online, I have found a solution.

Important! There’s a risk of causing damage, so I recommend either creating a data backup beforehand or having an experienced admin handle the matter.

What’s the problem? It seems that Microsoft creates a Recovery Partition during the Windows installation. This partition allows you to restore Windows to a certain state. For certain versions, this partition is quite small, and that’s where our update comes into play. This update wants to update the content on this partition, but unfortunately, there isn’t enough space, resulting in an error.

The following steps will help ensure that this update runs smoothly:

  1. Press the Windows key and type diskmgmt.msc
  2. Right-click on the entry and select “Run as administrator”
  3. You should now see a list of all the drives on your computer, and on the one where Windows is installed, there should be a partition marked as a recovery partition with about 500 MB at the end (see images).
  4. Right-click on the partition before this 500 MB partition and select “Shrink Volume”; we need to make room for the recovery partition.
  5. The dialog box may take a while to open; enter 500 under “Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB” and click “Shrink”.
  6. Shrinking will take a while, and afterward, there should be unallocated space between the two partitions.
  7. We now need to extend the last partition into this free space. To do this, we download an additional tool, AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. Any other partitioning tool will work as well (such as Diskpart, which is included with Windows).
  8. Install and then start this tool.
  9. In AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, select the last partition and click on “Resize Partition”.
  10. Drag the slider to the left and add the 500 MB to the partition.
  11. Confirm with OK and then click “Apply” at the top to adjust the partition size.
  12. Restart the computer.
  13. Run Windows Update.
  14. Be happy!

I hope this helps someone out there. If there are any questions, just comment.

Regards

M.

Should i buy the new Prusa MK4 3D-Printer?

About three years ago, I bought my first Prusa MK3S, second-hand. Unfortunately, there were a few delivery issues, and the part was quite bent, making it quite a challenge to start printing initially. After some service work (replacing guides and spindles, tensioning the Y-belt), however, the printing experience was as smooth as everyone claims it to be with Prusa printers.

This year, Prusa surprised us with the MK4, and in my opinion, it brings some upgrades over the MK3S that are truly worth considering an upgrade to this new version.

So, I did it! I sold off the old printer quite decently on willhaben.at and purchased a new one. My engineer’s heart demanded the kit version, as that’s the best way to learn how the thing functions and how it’s built.

Three days ago, the printer arrived, and I could hardly wait to start assembling it. And what can I say? It was better than claimed everywhere:

  • The instructions provided via the Prusa Wiki are perfect, and practically anyone can assemble the printer with them.
  • All necessary tools and aids are included in the kit, so no extra tools are needed.
  • The division of components into individual bags, the labeling of these bags, and the level of detail in the instructions -> Perfect!
  • Prusa even developed an app that assesses belt tension using the microphone (you vibrate the fully assembled belt, and the sound helps determine whether it’s too tight or too loose). I understand that this is feasible and not exactly rocket science, but still a cool feature!
  • They even include a bag of gummy bears 🥰.

You really need to take about two days to get everything together, but it’s a delight. In short, after two days of assembly and subsequent test printing, there were ZERO problems.

By now, I’m already on the tenth consecutive print, without ever encountering an issue or problem. I definetly recommend the upgrade to the new MK4 and opting for the kit version (which is also about €250 cheaper); it pays off, and the assembly is enjoyable!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

Yours sincerely, Seesle

PS: This is not a paid advertisement or anything; I myself pondered for a long time about upgrading from the MK3S (after hours of watching YouTube influencers).