The new version of the SRTP scheme rulebook includes the set of operating rules and technical messages that enable a payee to request the initiation of a transaction from a payer in a wide range of physical or online use cases. In addition, the rulebook covers the need to simplify the SRTP scheme and maintain it stable, having included in it complementary reasons codes for clarity purposes, the definition of several options, the mandatory registration in the EPC Directory Service (EDS), the inclusion of sealing requirements for security purposes in the Application Programming Interface (API) specifications, and optimisation of the homologation process.
Additionally, the EPC’s new version of the SRTP scheme rulebook, providing improvements focused on scaling clarity, security, and ease of use, is set to take effect on 5 October 2025.
This publication comes just over a month after the EPC released its Verification of Payee (VOP) Application Programming Interface (API) specifications. The regulator established a set of guidelines for VOP-related API use for the VOP scheme rulebook version 1.0. These guidelines were also scheduled to take effect on 5 October 2025. The guidelines centred on the standards for VOP-related communications, especially those governing VOP Requests and Responses exchanged between Payment Service Providers (PSPs). Additionally, the specifications came as part of a broader effort to develop uniformity within inter-PSP communications across the European market.
Initially, the EPC published the first version of its SEPA SRTP rulebook in November 2020, with the scheme being a messaging functionality that complements the end-to-end payment flow as it enables a payee to request the initiation of a payment from a payer in a wider range of both physical and online use cases. The scheme supports the end-to-end payment experience for all parties involved and facilitates reconciliation, while also assisting the request of a payment in a digital manner and enabling payees to state their payment preferences.
The third version of the SRTP rulebook was published on 24 November 2022, with it taking effect on 30 November 2023 and including all the functionalities required to allow the proper functioning of the scheme and a set of new capabilities requested by the market, including redirect options, instalment payments, requests for guarantees, and request for payment initiation status.
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