The European Payments Council (EPC) launches a request for proposal (RFP) for the selection of a technology service provider in charge of providing, operating and supporting a test environment for the validation and self-certification of the Verification Of Payee (VOP) API – both server-side and client-side – by the scheme participants.
The VOP scheme, developed by the EPC, will come into effect on 5 October 2025. It provides all Payment Service Providers (PSPs) in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) a mechanism to verify the payee (i.e., beneficiary) of an (instant) credit transfer, as mandated by the Instant Payment Regulation.
The VOP Scheme relies on the use of APIs for the inter-PSP messages. This creates a number of challenges to ensure cross-border reachability, interoperability and the well-functioning of the scheme between participants.
To this end, the EPC intends establishing a reference API test environment for the VOP API-based scheme, referenced as the EPC “VOP API Reference Toolbox”. This toolbox will need to be set up and operated for the VOP scheme and will emulate both server-side and client-side VOP scheme interactions. Additionally, the EPC requires the VOP API Reference Toolbox to enable the stakeholders in the scheme to self-certify compliance with the VOP API.
How to participate?
The RFP will run from 23 December 2024 and the deadline for the candidates to submit their response, is Friday 17 January 2025, 18h CET.
Any candidate with a legitimate interest and meeting the eligibility criteria mentioned in the document, is invited to apply. To begin the application process, applicants must first complete the form to receive the RFP document, and then submit their application via email.
Responses of the potential candidates to the present request for proposal will be evaluated by the EPC. The final selection of the VOP API Reference Toolbox provider will be subject to formal approval by the EPC Board.
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
