Latest news with #EuropeanPaymentsCouncil
Finextra
7 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
Papaya secures direct Sepa access
European fintech company Papaya Ltd. has officially become one of the first Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) in Europe to secure direct access to SEPA, including both SEPA Credit Transfers (SCT) and SEPA Instant (SCT Inst). 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. As of today, Papaya Ltd. is listed in the European Payments Council's official register of SEPA participants. This move places Papaya at the forefront of European payments innovation, eliminating reliance on intermediary banks and unlocking full control over euro transactions — both standard and instant — directly from its own infrastructure. 'Becoming a direct SEPA participant is no small feat. It's not just about ticking regulatory boxes — it requires a rare mix of operational maturity, compliance strength, and technical readiness,' said Igor Tsybolyuk, CEO of Papaya Ltd. 'We're proud to lead this transformation and show that EMIs can operate on the same level as banks when it comes to payments infrastructure.' A New Chapter for Fintech Until recently, only credit institutions — mainly banks — could participate in SEPA directly. EMIs, even those with full European licensing, were forced to rely on correspondent banks to process payments. But the challenge wasn't malicious exclusion — it was practical. Banks were expected to take responsibility for payments and clients they didn't onboard, monitor, or fully understand. For many, that wasn't worth the risk or operational burden. Papaya, however, invested in building the infrastructure, procedures, and controls needed to take on that responsibility itself — and meet the strict participation criteria set by the European Payments Council and central banking systems. What Makes It Possible To qualify as a direct SEPA participant, Papaya successfully implemented one of the most advanced infrastructures in the EMI sector: A compliant safeguarding model using both insurance and segregated accounts, aligned with EU regulations; Successful technical integration with the Latvian Central Bank and full ISO 20022 and ISO 27001 compatibility; Strong AML, risk management, and compliance systems developed to banking-level standards; Support for both SEPA Credit Transfers and SEPA Instant, available for live client use starting September 10, 2025. Papaya's milestone signals a broader shift: EMIs that invest in real infrastructure, not just wrappers, can take control of their core systems — and unlock payment freedom for the clients they serve.
Finextra
08-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
EPC invites Directory Service Providers to collaborate on VoP scheme
The European Payments Council is seeking Directory Service Providers to help with checking routing algorithms that may be used by Verification of Payee (VoP) scheme participants. 0 Payment service providers will have to offer VoP IBAN/name matching services to their customers for their Sepa transactions from October. As part of the scheme, the EPC contracted Swift to develop the EPC Directory Service (EDS), a centralised platform storing all EPC scheme participants' information needed to securely identify and authorise them, and to secure reachability and interoperability at the VoP scheme level. Now the Council is issuing a public 'call for interest' to Directory Service Providers that own directories of BICs, official national identifiers and/or IBAN ranges, and allowing retrieval of BICs from customer account numbers. These providers are being invited to collaborate with the EPC with the goal of checking routing algorithms that may be used by VoP scheme participants when issuing VOP Requests. The EPC wants to work with them to verify the availability of the required dataset (Account Holding BICs) to support correct configuration of the EDS in line with EPC specifications, and to test options for implementing the IBAN-to-BIC mapping algorithm. Interested parties have until 18 July to respond via email.
Finextra
23-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
RT1 and STEP2 participants across 14 countries to adopt EBA's VOP solution
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). 1 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. 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.
