In early April 2025, The Paypers hosted a webinar titled Verification of Payee—Getting Ready for the Last Milestone, featuring payment specialists from Worldline and Projective Group.
Matthieu Mulot, Global Product Manager for VoP and Compliance at Worldline, and Roderick Kroon, Global Solution Owner of Instant Payments and VoP at Projective Group, provided expert insights into the evolving regulatory landscape. The session offered a comprehensive overview of upcoming milestones, explored the primary challenges facing Payment Service Providers (PSPs), and shared actionable strategies to reduce risk and achieve compliance with the EU’s Verification of Payee (VoP) mandate.
One of the key takeaways from the webinar was that not all players in the market have yet embarked on their Verification of Payee (VoP) journey, underlining the urgency of addressing this issue. The biggest challenge identified was meeting compliance deadlines on time—a concern that is becoming increasingly pressing as regulatory timelines draw closer. The high level of engagement during the Q&A session, which generated more questions than could be answered in a single session, highlighted just how many uncertainties still surround VoP implementation.
Topics such as transaction volumes, name-matching accuracy, and PSP readiness were all actively discussed, reinforcing that VoP continues to be a critical and complex area for the industry. The following article is a detailed presentation of the webinar discussion points.
Verification of Payee (VoP) is a critical component of the EU’s Instant Payments Regulation (IPR), which aims to enhance the security, speed, and transparency of payments across Europe. Under the IPR, banks offering payment accounts are mandated to support both instant credit transfers and VoP, marking a significant shift in the payments landscape.
The regulation introduces several important changes: instant payments must be processed within ten seconds, transaction fees for instant payments cannot exceed those for standard SEPA Credit Transfers (SCT), and both VoP and instant payments must be supported even for batch transactions. The goal is not only to enable faster payments but also to mitigate the increased fraud risk that comes with speed.
VoP specifically addresses this risk by verifying the payee’s name against the IBAN before a payment is executed. It reduces the chance of misdirected payments and helps prevent fraud—especially in a real-time environment where transactions are either accepted or rejected in seconds. The effectiveness of VoP is already evident in markets like the Netherlands and the UK, where its implementation has led to a 67% drop in misdirected payments and an 81% reduction in all-cause fraud.
The VoP mandate applies to all SEPA transactions, not just instant payments, and covers all channels through which payments are initiated—mobile apps, online banking, branches, and even telephone banking. Although corporates may opt out of VoP, banks must still offer the service to them if requested.
From a technical perspective, VoP requires Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to send a query containing the recipient’s IBAN and name. The recipient’s bank (or its appointed service provider) must return a response indicating whether the name is a full match, close match, or no match. This allows the payer to make an informed decision before proceeding with the payment. Additionally, all requests and responses must be logged in an audit trail for potential fraud dispute resolution.
To enable this communication, the European Payments Council (EPC) has developed a dedicated VoP scheme and established the Routing and Verification Mechanism (RVM) model. Many banks will rely on RVM providers rather than building in-house solutions. RVMs will exchange verification requests on behalf of PSPs and use the EPC Directory Service (EDS)—a registry of participating banks and RVMs—to know where to route the queries. All players will follow a standard protocol to ensure interoperability across the EU and avoid past fragmentation issues.
June 2025: Banks must have their VoP systems ready to connect to the EPC’s EDS.
October 5, 2025: VoP services must be live and operational.
October 9, 2025: All PSPs must be capable of sending and receiving SEPA Instant Credit Transfers with VoP support.
July 9, 2027: Deadline for PSPs in non-Euro area Member States to implement VoP.
At the end of March 2025, the EPC launched the qualification process for organisations wishing to operate as RVMs under the VoP scheme. This move reflects the EPC’s expectation that most PSPs will depend on third-party providers to ensure compliance and smooth operation of VoP across Europe.
After offering a brief overview of what Verification of Payee (VoP) entails and its expected implementation timeline, we engaged our webinar audience with a poll to better understand what they perceive as the biggest hurdles in meeting the VoP mandate. With over 100 respondents, the results revealed the top challenges as follows:
Achieving timely compliance - meeting the compliance deadline of October 2025 is a top concern, primarily due to the complexity of the regulatory landscape and associated liability risks. The key recommendation is to collaborate early with an EPC-certified Routing and Verification Mechanism (RVM) provider—preferably one with a proven, live solution. There is little time left to build these systems from scratch; they should already be nearing completion.
Delivering a seamless customer journey with fast response times - today’s users expect near-instant feedback during the payment journey. Ensuring a frictionless customer experience means selecting a VoP partner that guarantees fast response times—regardless of transaction volume. Delays in verification checks could negatively impact user satisfaction and undermine trust.
Preparing all channels for VoP - VoP must be available across all customer channels, including mobile apps, online banking platforms, branches, and even telephone banking. In practice, a recurring issue is the lack of necessary data—particularly the BIC (Bank Identifier Code)—within certain channels, which is essential for routing the VoP request to the correct bank or RVM. Often, only the IBAN is available, which complicates processing. The capability to access the SWIFT IBAN to BIC feature might not be possible for all institutions due to technical constraints or lack of connectivity with the SWIFT network.
Handling the ‘unhappy flow’ in batch payments - batch processing presents specific challenges, especially for large volumes of transactions. VoP checks for batches may not be completed within the standard 10-second window, potentially taking up to an hour. This raises critical questions around authorisation timing: Do you wait for the results? How long? What happens if you receive multiple ‘close match’ or ‘no match’ results? Can the batch continue? If it does, does the payer take on the liability typically held by the bank? The lack of clear best practices for batch VoP flows remains a major concern.
Managing customer impact - successfully implementing VoP also means managing customer expectations and behaviour. For example, mismatches due to nickname or alias usage can confuse users. Educational campaigns are needed to explain match outcomes clearly—whether it's a match, close match, or no match—and guide customers through appropriate next steps.
Choosing the right RVM partner - finally, selecting the appropriate RVM provider is critical to the success of VoP implementation. The RVM plays a pivotal role in ensuring interoperability and efficient name-matching, so PSPs must choose a partner that meets regulatory, technical, and performance requirements.
Following the analysis of audience-identified challenges, the speakers moved on to outline concrete strategies for PSPs preparing for the Verification of Payee (VoP) mandate. The focus was on practical, actionable steps PSPs need to take now to ensure readiness ahead of the upcoming regulatory deadlines. Matthieu outlined a ten-step strategy to ensure PSPs are compliant by October 2025:
Make or buy decision - opt for an RVM provider to simplify the implementation process due to tight timelines.
RVM selection - choose a certified RVM provider that aligns with your strategic needs and offers proven solutions.
QWAC certificate - obtain the necessary technical certification to participate in the VOP scheme.
EPC registration - adhere to the European Payment Council’s registration waves to ensure timely compliance, and even better to do so sooner, the 1st wave
Adapt payment channels - modify payment systems from a single-step to a two-steps process to integrate VOP effectively.
Integrate with RVM - establish a seamless connection between your systems and the selected RVM.
User acceptance testing - conduct thorough testing to ensure system compliance and functionality.
End-to-end testing - validate the entire system’s functionality from initiation to completion of the transaction.
Customer communication - initiate customer education campaigns well in advance to minimise friction and enhance understanding.
Go live – On 5th of October you are ready to support and activate Verification of Payee.
Rodrik highlighted crucial factors in selecting an RVM provider, including:
Service scope - determine whether you need basic compliance or additional value-added services like fraud detection.
Geographic reach - decide between a single provider for multiple regions or specialised providers per country.
Volume handling - ensure the provider can handle large volumes efficiently.
Integration support - evaluate the provider’s capacity to support seamless integration.
Cost structure - consider direct and indirect costs, including transaction fees and integration costs.
As the October 2025 deadline approaches, PSPs must act swiftly to address the multifaceted challenges of VOP implementation. Partnering with reliable RVM providers, preparing systems and channels, and engaging in comprehensive customer communication strategies are vital steps to ensure readiness.
Both Matthieu and Rodrik concluded the webinar by emphasising the importance of early action, strategic partnerships, and thorough preparation. Starting the process now, while leveraging expert guidance, can significantly mitigate risks and ensure a smooth transition to the new regulatory standards.
To learn more about getting ready for the VoP mandate, you can access the recording of the webinar here.
About Mirela Ciobanu
Mirela Ciobanu is Lead Editor at The Paypers, specialising in the Banking and Fintech domain. With a keen eye for industry trends, she is constantly on the lookout for the latest developments in digital assets, regtech, payment innovation, and fraud prevention. Mirela is particularly passionate about crypto, blockchain, DeFi, and fincrime investigations, and is a strong advocate for online data privacy and protection. As a skilled writer, Mirela strives to deliver accurate and informative insights to her readers, always in pursuit of the most compelling version of the truth. Connect with Mirela on LinkedIn or reach out via email at mirelac@thepaypers.com.
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