VOP User Group #4: latest VOP scheme and PVP updates
The fourth workshop of the Verification of Payee User Group, which features a growing number of members, took place on May 23rd, 2025. This session focused on the newest EPC VOP Scheme updates, the Payee Verification Platform and its latest features, and additional implementation considerations.
VOP Scheme adherence and EDS onboarding
The experts first discussed the VOP Scheme adherence status update, as Wave 1 ended on May 15th. Several LUXHUB clients have already gone, successfully, through the process, while the others are highly encouraged to submit as part of Wave 2, which ends on June 30th.
Moreover, as of the end of May/early June, EDS (EPC Directory Service) credentials have not yet been sent by the EPC to PSPs (Payment Service Providers) and/or their RVMs (Routing and/or Verification Mechanisms). Also, the Register of Participants (ROP) is already published on the EPC website and is being updated with more PSPs on a daily basis.
The next step, the onboarding in the EDS, requires registering in swift.com (as the EDS manager) and the creation of an EDS user. Two onboarding options were defined by the EPC (late in process but with no real impact on PSP/RVM setup):
- Standard: the PSP retains control over the EDS onboarding, and defines an administrator user that will, after EDS registration, invite the RVM
- Simplified: the PSP delegates the EDS onboarding to the RVM it intends to use
This choice is made during the application through the email address provided for EDS registration. It is not definitive, as retaking control over EDS administration or its delegation remain possible.
The ART (API Reference Toolbox) pilot recently started and aims at preparing the opening of VOP APIs self-testing portal and tool provided by the EPC. It features 79 different requester tests cases and 80 responding.
LUXHUB was invited to participate and raised 18 feedback points to the EPC relating notably to the tool usability, tests setup and specific test cases.
Payee Verification Platform updates
Among the latest developments and updates, the LUXHUB team has notably provided:
- A new VOP data template has been published to support among other improvements to new specific account ownership cases (associations);
- The first VOP query and admin portal views are available; access will be shared with clients starting from June (upon request);
- LUXHUB’s enriched VOP requesting interface, Unified Access API is henceforth available in integration environment including the support for bulk checks.
Click to discover the Payee Verification Platform and the VOP Portal.
Additional implementation considerations
The next part revolved around the outcome of a Q&A session recently organized by local associations which intended to address some of the most pressing PSPs’ questions regarding the scope of VOP and its implementation. It covered topics such as payment orders given through specific flows such as email, corporate payment channels such as SWIFT, EBICS, SOFIE, the possibility for PSPs to edit registered authorized beneficiaries for public bodies (ACD, police, customs, etc.), and more. Get in touch to learn more about these specific topics and points.
The workshop ended with a focus on the value of “aliases” used for legal entities. This feature developed by LUXHUB – based on some early Payee Verification Platform participants’ feedback – consists in supporting, in the matching process, a specific name which payers are likely to be familiar with and/or know more than the “official” names (legal or commercial/trade). As explained by Ramzi Dziri, Head of Product at LUXHUB, based on data for some high-velocity accounts of various profiles (public administrations, public and private companies), adding an alias improved the total of close and exact matches by +22,5%. In comparison, lowering the close match threshold, another variable in the matching process, provided an improvement of +9,5% of the proportion of those “positive” matches.
Interested in learning more? Contact the LUXHUB team.