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The European Payments Council (EPC) has revised the implementation timelines for rules to accommodate for the EU’s incoming Instant Payments Regulation (IPR). 

Recent regulatory developments have prompted the Payment Scheme Management Board (PSMB) of the EPC to  the entry-into-force dates of several significant payment schemes in the region.

The IPR, which took effect on April 8, 2024, introduces new obligations for payment service providers (PSPs) within the European Economic Area (EEA).

Eurozone-based PSPs will face new obligations on January 9, 2025 and October 9, 2025, while payment and e-money institutions will encounter new compliance rules later in 2027.

This shortened timeline differs from the usual implementation period for EPC payment scheme releases, and the EPC has urged participants to plan and budget accordingly. 

The EPC oversees Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) payment schemes, which are the rules underlying most of the euro credit transfers and direct debits in Europe. It is here breaking with its tradition of implementing schemes to align with the Swift standards update, which comes in November every year. 

This is so that the revised scheme rulebook is instead in complete alignment with the EU’s IPR. 

According to one payments advisor, while this provides less time, it is “a necessary evil” for PSPs to comply with the new regulation. 

The Brussels-based body has also recommended immediate discussions with technical service providers to ensure timely compliance with the impending changes.

New deadlines

To align with the regulatory deadlines and accommodate upcoming changes, the PSMB has decided to revise plans, including those for the Verification of Payee (VoP) scheme.

The EPC confirmed it will publish version 1.0 of the VoP scheme rulebook and related API scheme specifications in September 2024.

The VoP was only consulted on recently, having been published in February 2024.

The VoP scheme will provide a set of inter-PSP rules, practices and standards for the SEPA, which will be compulsory for participants who adhere to the scheme. 

Further, it will set minimum conditions required in the payment service user (PSU) to PSP space and make use of ISO 20022 resource elements.

The PSMB has decided that the 2025 rulebooks for SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT), SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst), SEPA Direct Debit Core (SDD Core), SEPA Direct Debit B2B (SDD B2B) and One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer (OCT Inst) schemes will incorporate regulatory changes stemming from the IPR. 

These changes will be published in November 2024.

Moreover, the PSMB has determined that all five 2025 EPC payment scheme rulebooks, along with version 1.0 of the VoP scheme rulebook, will enter into force on October 5, 2025.

This simultaneous implementation date aims to provide PSPs, clearing and settlement mechanisms (CSMs) and other technical service providers with what is hoped will be ample time to prepare for compliance with the IPR.