meta_id 2975206

The European Payments Council has published three key updates linked to the Verification of Payee (VOP) scheme rulebook, the Application Programming Interface (API) Specifications, and the API Security Framework, which will become effective on September 20, 2026. The VOP scheme provides a set of inter-payment service provider (PSP) rules, practices and standards in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) to be complied with by participants who adhere to the scheme. The VOP scheme rulebook version 1.1 will support payment service providers (PSPs) in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) that are required to comply with legal obligations on the verification of a payee in the case of SEPA (Instant) credit transfers, as outlined in the EU Instant Payments Regulation (IPR - Regulation (EU) 2024/886 ) amending the SEPA Regulation. The VOP scheme API specifications 1.1 sets out the rules for implementing VOP-related APIs based on version 1.1 of the VOP scheme rulebook and includes: A change in relation to the empty API fields, which are no longer allowed to be consistent with the standards. Clarifications about the character set to be used in the VOP APIs. Clarifications about the Timestamp. Clarifications about the HTTP Headers. The VOP API Security Framework v2.1 includes additional clarifications on the use of the certificates for the VOP scheme and sets minimum API security requirements for VOP, SEPA Request‑to‑Pay (SRTP), and SEPA Payment Account Access (SPAA) scheme participants. This framework will become mandatory as of September 20, 2026, for the VOP, SRTP and SPAA scheme participants when using APIs.