RT1 and STEP2 participants across 14 countries to adopt EBA's VOP solution

Finextra

23-05-2025

EBA CLEARING announced today that over 55 RT1 and STEP2 Participants across 14 countries are preparing to adopt its Fraud Pattern and Anomaly Detection (FPAD) Verification of Payee (VOP) solution to deliver VOP checks in compliance with the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR).
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These participants will connect hundreds of payment service providers (PSPs) across Europe, already representing more than 40% of the traffic in STEP2 and RT1. This strong uptake is positioning FPAD as the leading pan-European VOP solution and building up significant reach for VOP across Europe in preparation for the upcoming IPR deadline in October 2025.
At the same time, a new release of the VOP functionality has been delivered in May 2025. With this release, EBA CLEARING has integrated the European Payments Council (EPC)'s Directory Service (EDS) into its VOP offering and aligned its VOP interface with the EPC application programming interface (API). To ensure maximum flexibility and choice for PSPs, the release has further enriched the solution with additional requesting and responding options. It has also extended the available connectivity options, including managed connectivity over SWIFTNet and SIANet.
Developed with the support and input from fraud experts across EBA CLEARING's multinational user community, the VOP solution builds on FPAD's capabilities to offer flexible options for both sending and receiving VOP checks. FPAD VOP reach will be significant amongst STEP2 and RT1 users and complemented with the EPC VOP Scheme reach. This will allow PSPs to evolve their VOP strategies over time while ensuring pan-European reach from day one. By using FPAD for VOP, PSPs can meet compliance requirements, reduce user friction and strengthen their fraud risk management.
Dr. Patrik Pohl, Managing Director, Head of Corporate Cash Management Germany at Deutsche Bank, said:
'FPAD VOP stands out by going beyond standard VOP checks. We will be able to enrich account checks with additional FPAD indicators, which offer deeper insights to help us prevent fraud and avoid unnecessary friction for our corporate customers. With distinct user needs driving the design and development of FPAD, EBA CLEARING has delivered a comprehensive set of VOP solutions that provides stronger results, greater security and an improved client experience.'
Sophie Giorgi, Head of Payment System and Infrastructure Relationships at Crédit Agricole Payment Services, said:
'For us, FPAD VOP is the best solution for cross-border transactions and provides a reliable back-up. What is more, with FPAD, we are not only getting a scheme-compliant, IPR-compliant VOP solution, but also access to a fully-fledged fraud detection solution leveraging a pan-European network view.'
Tanja Konrad, Head of Daily Banking Services at Erste Group, said:
'Thanks to the pan-European approach and coverage of FPAD VOP, we will be able to roll out a single VOP solution across our network of banks in Central and Eastern Europe. We look forward to combining the VOP check with other FPAD indicators to strengthen our risk controls, while also making the VOP experience as smooth as possible for our customers.'
Erwin Kulk, Head of Service Development and Management at EBA CLEARING, said:
'FPAD VOP is real and ready. PSPs have ample time to introduce the mandatory VOP in all their channels. By providing options and choice, we will be servicing a diverse and large group of PSPs. This formula has proven its value in operating pan-European market infrastructures. The broad adoption that FPAD VOP is already seeing today demonstrates the importance of a not-for-profit, user-driven approach to solve infrastructure challenges in the SEPA ecosystem.'
EBA CLEARING's FPAD functionality was developed in 2023 with the support of fraud experts from STEP2 and RT1 Participants across Europe, following the release of a blueprint and subsequent RT1 and STEP2 user consultation in Q4 2022.
STEP2 and RT1 are pan-European retail payment systems processing SEPA Credit Transfers and Direct Debits (STEP2) and SEPA Instant Credit Transfers (RT1) respectively. Both systems are operated by EBA CLEARING, a European-owned, European-governed and European-overseen financial market infrastructure provider providing cost-effective solutions to the SEPA payments ecosystem.