Payment rails
Cut-off
Deadline after which a payment order joins the next business day’s processing cycle.
Each bank publishes a deadline per channel and per order type. A transfer submitted after it is not refused: it waits for the next batch. The cut-off gives the institution time to assemble its file, run compliance checks and secure its liquidity position before an irrevocable settlement.
Instant rails have no cut-off by construction: they settle operation by operation rather than in batches. That is the major operational difference between classic SEPA and SEPA Instant, and the reason a late-afternoon order arrives the next day on one and within seconds on the other.