The Instant Payments Regulation and Verification of Payee
The EU rules that make euro instant payments — and a free Verification of Payee check — mandatory for payment service providers. Here's what changes, by when, and how VoP keeps you compliant.
Key deadlines
- 9 Jan 2025 Receive instant payments (euro area)
- 9 Oct 2025 Send + Verification of Payee (euro area)
- 9 Jan 2027 Receive instant payments (non-euro area)
- 9 Jul 2027 Send + Verification of Payee (non-euro area)
What the Instant Payments Regulation is
The Instant Payments Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/886) amends the SEPA rules to make instant euro credit transfers the norm across the European Union — credited to the payee in ten seconds, around the clock.
To make instant payments safe, the regulation also makes Verification of Payee mandatory: every PSP offering euro credit transfers must let the payer check that the payee name matches the IBAN, free of charge, before the payment is confirmed.
It applies to banks and payment service providers in the EU, with staggered deadlines for the euro area and for Member States outside the euro area.
The deadlines that matter
Key dates for PSPs under the Instant Payments Regulation.
- 9 Jan 2025
Receive instant payments (euro area)
Euro-area PSPs must be able to receive instant euro credit transfers.
- 9 Oct 2025
Send + Verification of Payee (euro area)
Euro-area PSPs must also send instant payments and offer Verification of Payee, free of charge.
- 9 Jan 2027
Receive instant payments (non-euro area)
PSPs in non-euro-area Member States must be able to receive instant euro transfers.
- 9 Jul 2027
Send + Verification of Payee (non-euro area)
PSPs outside the euro area must send instant payments and offer Verification of Payee.
What the regulation requires
Four obligations reshape how euro transfers work.
Instant payments as standard
Euro credit transfers credited within ten seconds, 24/7, every day of the year.
Verification of Payee, free
A payee name/IBAN check must be offered to the payer at no extra cost before confirmation.
Fee parity
Instant transfers can't cost the payer more than equivalent standard credit transfers.
Daily sanctions screening
PSPs screen customers against sanctions lists daily, instead of holding up each transaction.
Who must comply, and by when
Deadlines differ for the euro area and the rest of the EU.
| Obligation | Euro-area PSPs | Non-euro-area PSPs |
|---|---|---|
| Receive instant payments | 9 Jan 2025 | 9 Jan 2027 |
| Send instant payments | 9 Oct 2025 | 9 Jul 2027 |
| Offer Verification of Payee | 9 Oct 2025 | 9 Jul 2027 |
| Fee parity with standard transfers | 9 Jan 2025 | 9 Jan 2027 |
How VoP gets you compliant
Four steps to offer Verification of Payee before your deadline.
Join the EPC VoP scheme
We help you onboard as a requesting and/or responding PSP under the EPC rulebook.
Integrate the API
Connect to a standardised, real-time API that fits your existing payment flow.
Offer it free to payers
Surface the match result in your channels, free of charge, exactly as the regulation requires.
Go live before the deadline
Test, certify and switch on — comfortably ahead of your compliance date.
The regulation, answered
The essentials for PSPs.
For euro-area PSPs, from 9 October 2025. For PSPs in Member States outside the euro area, from 9 July 2027. The check must be offered to the payer free of charge on euro credit transfers.
The requirement to offer payee verification applies to euro credit transfers offered to the payer, both instant and standard SEPA transfers — wherever the payer initiates the payment electronically.
No. The Instant Payments Regulation requires that the Verification of Payee service is provided to the payer without any additional charge.
The service returns a 'not possible' outcome. The payer is informed and decides whether to proceed — the payment is not automatically blocked.
Through the EPC scheme and a standardised API, onboarding is measured in weeks, not months. Talk to us to map your path to the relevant deadline.
Regulation (EU) 2024/886 — the Instant Payments Regulation — is the EU law that amends the SEPA rules to make euro instant payments universal and Verification of Payee mandatory and free for payers. It is the legal basis for the VoP obligation.
Yes. Italy is in the euro area, so Italian banks and PSPs must offer Verification of Payee from 9 October 2025 under Regulation (EU) 2024/886 — on the same timeline as the rest of the euro-area.
Keep reading
Be ready before the deadline
Let's plan your Verification of Payee onboarding and go live with time to spare.