meta_id 3053924

On 9 April 2026, the European Payments Council (EPC) published guidance on configuring time-related attributes for Verification of Payee (VOP) scheme participants in the EPC Directory Service (EDS). The guidance addresses EDS users from VOP scheme participants and Routing and Verification Mechanisms (RVMs) working on their behalf. It establishes key EDS parameters applicable to all scheme participants: an EDS cut-off time of 19:00 UTC, an EDS publication time of 01:00 UTC the following day, and an EDS effective date time of 00:00 UTC two days after submission. The EDS Local File is available 24/7 but must be downloaded daily for offline use by scheme participants and RVMs. The guidance specifies three participant-specific attributes: Scheme Operational Readiness Date (ORD), which marks when a participant becomes officially adherent to the VOP scheme and operationally ready to process VOP requests; URI Start datetime, indicating when URI endpoints must be considered active and responding to VOP API requests; and Option Operational Readiness Date, indicating when a Responding Payment Service Provider (PSP) begins supporting a VOP scheme option. For new entries or ORD updates, the EDS enforces the ORD to be at least three calendar days from the current date but not later than six months. URI Start datetime and Option Operational Readiness Date attributes are enforced to be after the EDS effective date time of the next EDS local file. Changes made before 19:00 UTC must have a minimum effective date of current date plus two calendar days; changes after 19:00 UTC require a minimum of current date plus three calendar days. The EPC recommends VOP participants update ORD, live URIs, and start datetimes as early as stable information becomes available to mitigate risks of non-reachability during potential EDS outages.