EBA Clearing well on the way to beneficiary verification

Pan-European payment infrastructure solutions provider EBA Clearing has taken advantage of the entry into force of the Instant Payments Regulation to announce that its beneficiary verification function for instant transfers will be available in December 2024. The company's aim is to provide the best possible support to the players concerned, by offering solutions that comply with legal requirements.

FACTS

• EBA Clearing announced this week that the beneficiary verification function will be operational in December.

• This means that any payment service provider using EBA Clearing solutions will be able to access this functionality on a pan-European scale.

• The beneficiary verification offering for PSPs should include an "IBAN/Name" matching tool, enabling secure instant SEPA credit transfers in line with regulations.

• Indeed, the company is keen to support PSPs in implementing European regulations on instant payments, and has confirmed that its system will be aligned with the recommendations of the European Payments Council.

• For their part, PSPs using SEPA will be obliged to offer these services from October 9, 2025. This deadline stems from the Instant Payments Regulation, which came into force on April 8, 2024.

• EBA Clearing would like to propose solutions on both the sending and receiving sides, to ensure the robustness of the beneficiary's verification capability.

CHALLENGES

• Preparing for a gradual rise in transaction volumes: The company says it is ready to gradually ramp up the RT1 real-time payment system. EBA Clearing anticipates the differences in volume due to the Instant Payment Regulation. Its aim is to ensure that the transition period is smooth and sustainable, and that users do not experience any interruptions.

• A willingness to collaborate with all stakeholders: EBA Clearing is determined to make these changes in such a way as to include everyone concerned. The aim is for the transition to mandatory instant transfers to be a success for as many players as possible.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• RT1 is a pan-European infrastructure dedicated to the execution of SEPA instant credit transfers (SCT INST). It supports PSPs for instant euro payments and enables settlement in around one second during a transaction between participants, giving the beneficiary immediate availability of the payment amount. Launched in 2017, the system currently settles around three million payments a day and reaches all PSPs adhering to the EPC's SCT Inst program.

• EBA Clearing is not the only company to be looking at Verification of the Payee (VoP). Singapore's iPiD also seems keen to get in on the act, and has recently published a white paper expressing its interest in the regulatory situation in Europe.