Latest news with #EPC
Finextra
10 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
A crisis of trust: European and global verification brings safety to payments
0 This content has been created by the Finextra editorial team with inputs from subject matter experts at the funding sponsor. Verification of Payee (VoP) has rapidly become an essential aspect of banking and payments, ensuring security and safety in payments transactions. By October 2025, all European Payments Service Providers (PSPs) using SEPA instant and non-instant transfers will need to verify payee account details before processing payments. As the EPC's deadline is fast approaching, PSPs must urgently implement the VoP scheme or risk falling behind regulatory compliance and industry standards. The European Instant Payments Regulation and EPC VoP scheme requires all credit transfers across the Eurozone to be accompanied by a match of the account beneficiary's name. To comply, almost 5,000 European financial institutions will need to introduce a Routing and Verification mechanism (RVM) to make VoP requests and responses. Shedding light on the subject, Finextra spoke to Michael Moon, head of strategic market development at iPiD. This article outlines the main challenges facing VoP adoption, the solutions offered by third-party providers, and what VoP adoption will accomplish for the faster payments industry, both nationwide and on a global scale. Moon states: 'In the instant payments era, if you don't have the protections against the fraud and mistaken payments, your business is going to become a lot harder to operate.' Why is the VoP scheme essential? As instant payments increase, so does fraud and so must global verification confirmation services, as Moon points out. The impersonation and manipulation tactics that are being used by fraudsters to authorise payments have created what Moon labels a 'crisis of trust.' Verification of the payee is of critical significance to prevent fraud, and so the VoP mandate is arriving at a critical time to accompany instant payments growth as it continues to skyrocket. According to Moon, 'the world has been introduced to faster payments for many years now. Instant payments are incredibly pervasive across many countries in the world. Certainly in Europe, there have been efforts to increase instant payments. 'More recently, the European Commission introduced a regulatory package known as the IPR, or Instant Payments Regulation, and that came from dissatisfaction in Europe with the level of adoption of instant payments in the market. What the regulation made clear is that, if you are a payment service provider in the business of making credit transfers, you need to offer the ability to both send and receive payments on an instant basis,' states Moon. Recognising the potential risks that accompany speed, the regulator, with the benefit of international evidence such as the UK's Faster Payments system, acknowledged that instant payments inevitably leads to greater fraud risks. As such, the widespread adoption of instant payments could not be pushed forward in isolation, without appropriate safeguards. Hence, the VoP mandate was born. VoP, while not a silver bullet, has had a direct result on clamping down on fraudsters. In 2023, the UK's equivalent initiative Confirmation of Payee (CoP) led to a 17% decrease of APP fraud in 2023. According to data from Fortra in 2025, 77% of businesses uses CoP to prevent fraud and 96% agree that CoP is effective in reducing fraudulent transactions. Challenges to satisfy the approaching deadline A major challenge that financial institutions will need to overcome is managing their time wisely. Meeting the 9 October deadline requires phases of testing to be completed by July to ensure full readiness by the autumn, which sets PSPs on a tight timeline for preparation. Furthermore, global cross-border fragmentation adds another layer of complexity to meeting the deadline. Organisations that operate in multiple markets have more regulatory requirements to navigate. Moon added that large banks and payments firms that have a significant portfolio of corporate clients will also have to manage the complications of providing verification services for them as compared to individual customers. Third party providers can offer verification and validation schemes that understand and can streamline the transaction process. Moon points out that institutions looking to standardise their services across multiple markets and customer bases can gain support from third party providers that are best placed to serve their validation needs: 'These third party suppliers can help with the specific processes of making VoP requests and responding to those requests, as well as integrating with and orchestrating transaction activity with various services that need to be consumed to perform this. For example, there is a centralised electronic addressing service, the EPC Directory Service, which is a digital address book that identifies the recipient of these requests. Third parties, the RVMs, are the traffic police; sending, receiving, and responding on behalf of the payment service providers.' Moon mentions how these third parties can offer a Know Your Payee (KYP) scheme aimed at standardising responses and solving dissonance in global transactions. Using iPiD as an example, Moon highlights how global KYP providers do the work of connecting services and creating a standardised response to the sender of any validation or verification request: 'Financial organisations get the benefit of global coverage and reach to different verification services and actually standardising that back into their environment, so they don't need to deal with the different levels of capturing and presenting data.' Moon further explains that there are two forms of verification services that can be provided to PSPs: A lite provider that directs the traffic, managing requests and responses. A full provider which offers more in-depth features that manage the level and scale of verification activity throughout Europe, such as having records of history and transaction activity to ensure a request was made and provide evidence of that request and transaction if needed. The liability scheme that is soon to be introduced will hold PSPs accountable for any loss due to fraud or scams, which is why it is key to have evidence of transactions and transparency through the VoP scheme. Outside of scam and fraud, major inefficiencies such as mistaken payments and amending errors in the payments process can be resolved through VoP protocols. Moon emphasises that improving defenses against scams both at a local level and a global level are essential, as verification is being introduced in various forms in different nations. Moon concludes: 'As you move money faster, the risks of losing money to fraud and scams, particularly with the commensurate level of digitalisation in payment services, fraud losses and risks increase. We expect that all payments, whether they are local, in a single country like the UK or within the European marketplace, or payments that are conducted cross border and globally, we see all those payments having an upfront form of validation or verification. We think that is a necessary way to operate in the future.'
Business Standard
11 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Rail Vikas Nigam signs MoU with Texmaco Rail & Engineering
Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) has signed MoU with Texmaco Rail & Engineering. The MoU aims to establish a framework for collaboration in areas of mutual interest, particularly in the field of railway infrastructure and allied sectors. The areas of collaboration may include, but shall not be limited to, the following sectors: 1. Manufacture and Maintenance of Rolling Stock 2. Operation and Maintenance of Rolling Stock and Workshops 3. Future Collaboration and Strategic Initiatives- a) Establishment/Operation for Wheel Set Manufacturing Facility & Bogie Manufacturing Plants b) Manufacturing of Metro Coaches and Trainsets in India c) Execution of EPC and Allied Infrastructure Projects d) Technology & Innovation in areas of automation, digitalization, sustainable solutions, artificial intelligence, data analytics, green technologies, and other progressive fields relevant to railway infrastructure, manufacturing, operations, and maintenance.
The Hindu
12 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Jiyaguda abattoir proposed to be built under EPC mode
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has proposed to construct the much delayed modern abattoir at Jiyaguda under the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) mode of contract, with the cost totally footed by the Corporation. It is learnt from reliable sources that proposals have been approved by the GHMC Commissioner and forwarded to the government for approval. After the government's approval, orders will soon be issued, shared the officials. The EPC mode has been proposed after an earlier proposal to build the slaughterhouse under the Public-Private-Partnership ran into rough weather, stalling the project before it could start. In 2018, the government had accorded administrative sanction for design, and construction of the modern slaughterhouse for sheep and goat at Jiyaguda under 'Design, Finance, Build, Operate, Own and Transfer' mode, at an estimated cost of ₹42.5 crore. It was proposed then, to allow the stakeholders from the butcher and related communities, to organise into cooperatives and participate in the auction. The concessionaire was to operate the slaughterhouse for 33 years, and pay annual lease amount to the GHMC to be revised annually. Tenders were called four times, and concessionaire was selected. 'The idea of cooperatives failed eventually, when there were internal disagreements about footing the bill. They have given to GHMC in writing that they could not proceed with the construction, and that GHMC could go ahead with tenders,' shared an official. Other hiccups pertained to grant of environmental clearance from the Telangana Pollution Control Board as the proposed abattoir is on the banks of Musi River. After construction of the facility, another round of tenders will be floated to select the concessionaire for operation and maintenance of the slaughterhouse, the official said. The existing GHMC abattoirs at Ramnaspura, Amberpet, and New Bhoiguda are all operated under the same mode, and Jiyaguda will be the fourth in the line. Modernisation of the abattoirs is being actively pursued by the state government after Supreme Court's directions. All the conventional slaughterhouses have been closed where the operations were manual and unhygienic.
Iraqi News
13 hours ago
- Business
- Iraqi News
Iraq awards $100 million deal to Wood for flare gas reduction
Baghdad ( – UK-based engineering and consulting firm Wood has secured decarbonization contracts worth $100 million to support flare gas reduction and carbon efficiency initiatives across Iraq's major oil fields. These contracts are part of Iraq's broader commitment to reduce gas flaring by 78% by the end of 2025, aligning with environmental goals and enhancing operational efficiency. Under these agreements, Wood will provide brownfield engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, along with site modifications aimed at minimizing environmental impact. The company has a longstanding presence in Iraq, having previously implemented the country's largest flare gas reduction program to date. These efforts are crucial as Iraq continues to address the challenges of gas flaring, which has historically resulted in significant energy waste and environmental concerns. By capturing and utilizing associated gas that would otherwise be flared, these projects aim to convert waste into valuable energy resources, contributing to both economic growth and environmental sustainability.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What are heat pumps and how much do they cost?
A planning restriction that prevented heat pumps being installed within a metre of a neighbour's property has been removed. The government hopes the move will encourage more people to install the low-carbon technology. However, installation rates will need to increase substantially if the government wants to meet its target of 600,000 heat pumps being fitted each year by 2028. Planning change to make installing heat pump easier for millions Heat pumps run on electricity instead of gas. They warm buildings by absorbing and amplifying heat from the air, ground, or water. They are widely seen as the best way of cutting emissions of carbon dioxide - a planet-warming gas - from home heating, which accounts for 14% of the UK's carbon emissions. Heat pumps are more efficient than gas boilers and can use electricity generated from increasingly clean sources, as wind and solar power replace polluting fossil fuels. Air-source pumps - the most common type - suck in outdoor air and pass it over tubes containing refrigerant fluids which concentrate and boost the warmth to produce heat. The system consists of a box measuring about 1m x 1m x 0.4m which stands outside the property, as well as a heat pump unit and hot water cylinder inside the property. The indoor unit is about the size of a gas boiler, while the cylinder depends on the size of the home. Ground-source heat pumps are more efficient than air-source models. However, they are typically more expensive and less commonly used, as they require either a deep bore hole or a horizontal system dug into the ground over a large area. An air-source heat pump typically costs about £10,000 more than a gas boiler, according to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC). Installation costs can vary greatly depending on the changes needed to fit the pump into a property. To encourage people to make the switch, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides a grant of £7,500 to help with the extra costs in England and Wales. However, the UK's spending watchdog warned in 2024 that costs remain too high for many. The grant can be used for existing homes and non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. The property must have an eligible Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), issued in the last 10 years. Changes to the rules mean homes are no longer required to have existing loft or cavity wall insulation, which could save around £2,500 in upfront costs. A well-insulated home can help a heat pump perform more efficiently. The scheme is not available if you live in social housing or a new-build property. Tenants in private rented accommodation are also eligible but the landlord has to apply. Scotland, external and Northern Ireland, external have separate schemes to help make homes more efficient. Check if you are eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme Ofgem: Upgrading your boiler Find a certified installer While the upfront costs are currently substantial, heat pumps could become cheaper to run than gas boilers, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises the UK government on cutting emissions. The cost depends on individual energy prices and how efficiently the heat pump works. Electric heat pumps use much less energy than gas boilers, but electricity typically costs more than gas. Energy deals designed for heat pump owners can also help households make savings. The CCC has called on the government to prioritise making electricity cheaper for everyone, which would make heat pumps more attractive. Previously, homeowners needed planning permission if they wanted to put a heat pump within one metre of their neighbour's property - because of concerns over noise. The rule was dropped in May to accelerate the uptake of heat pumps. Concerns over noise are also less of an issue with newer devices, though units will still be required to be below a certain volume level. The level has been set at 42db which is a similar output to that of a fridge. The planning changes also include a relaxation of the rules for the size and number of heat pumps households can install. Rates of heat pump installation in the UK are lower than in other major European countries, such as France, Germany and Italy. But sales are increasing. Nearly 100,000 heat pumps were sold in 2024, up from about 60,000 in 2023, according to the Heat Pump Association. However, the CCC says this number needs to rise to nearly 450,000 a year by 2030 and 1.5 million by 2035 to help meet climate targets. It says around half of UK homes need to have heat pumps by 2040. Significantly more trained heat pump installers are needed to achieve this. There is no requirement to replace your existing boiler before the end of its life. Households can still buy a new gas boiler if they wish. However, the CCC recommends that all new home heating should be low-carbon after 2035. Most of this will mean using heat pumps, but it acknowledges that other approaches may be more appropriate in some cases - such as direct electric heating in homes with lower heat demand. But the CCC wants the government to rule out the possible use of hydrogen in home heating to provide certainty to customers and industry. A simple guide to climate change Four ways climate change worsens extreme weather What you can do to reduce carbon emissions Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
