MIP NEWS
Eurosystem to offer verification of payee service
10 March 2025
The Eurosystem has positively concluded its exploratory work for offering a Verification of Payee (VoP) service for payment service providers (PSPs) building on the services developed by the Banco de Portugal and Latvijas Banka. The decision will help PSPs in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) to comply with their legal obligations for credit transfers in euro, as outlined in the EU Instant Payments Regulation (Regulation 2024/886).
The two solutions offered by these Eurosystem central banks have been designed in accordance with the VoP scheme developed by the European Payments Council. The solutions will achieve SEPA-wide reach and will benefit from the coordination by the Eurosystem. Thus, any PSP in the euro area will be able to fulfil its obligation to offer a VoP service to their customers by 9 October 2025, using one of the two solutions.
For more information on the VoP solutions offered by the two Eurosystem central banks, please visit the websites of the Banco de Portugal and Latvijas Banka, or contact the ECB via email.
The introduction of a VoP service is expected to reduce the risk of fraud and payment errors by allowing payers to verify the account details of the intended recipients before payments are initiated. This service will be available for instant payments, including those settled in TARGET Instant Payment Settlement, as well as for SEPA credit transfers.