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Participating in the schemes

If payment service providers (PSPs) want to offer SEPA euro credit transfers and direct debits to their customers, they have to formally adhere to the EPC payment schemes.

Participating in the schemes 01

Thousands of PSPs already participate in the schemes and offer the convenience of SEPA credit transfers and direct debits to their customers.

This page will tell you what every new scheme participant needs to know, as well as provide helpful information for any existing participant who wishes to consult the Register of Participants, notify the EPC of a change in situation, or file a complaint about another scheme participant.

A community of banks or financial institutions from a non-EEA country or territory which is not yet within the geographical scope of the SEPA Schemes (as set out in EPC409-09) can find here the Criteria for Participation.

Who can participate in the EPC SEPA payment schemes?

Who can participate in the EPC payment schemes?

Scheme participants are PSPs licensed in a Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) country or territory, or by an appropriate European Economic Area regulatory body. As PSPs, they provide banking and/or payment services to customers, and accounts used for the execution of payments. These conditions are part of the eligibility criteria that can be found in full in the adherence guide.

To adhere to the EPC schemes, an applicant must be reachable by other scheme participants and have the capacity to process SEPA transactions or shall offer services relating to the OCT Inst Scheme in the capacity of at least a Euro Leg-Based Payee’s Payment Service Provider (PSP) as from the readiness date.

What must PSPs do to adhere to the EPC schemes?

The application process and the information necessary to implement the schemes in a PSP system are detailed in the toolkit for new scheme participants.

Scheme participation fees

PSPs have to pay an annual fee to use the EPC schemes. Find out more about the annual scheme participation fees and how PSPs are contacted by the EPC to settle payment.

Register of Participants

The EPC publishes and regularly updates the Register of Participants which lists all payment service providers and other eligible institutions who adhere to the EPC payment and payment related schemes.

Read more about the Register of Participants.

Notify the EPC of a change in the situation of a scheme participant

If a scheme participant’s contact or reachability details change and the Register of Participants therefore no longer carries accurate data for them, the scheme participant shall notify the EPC as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so.

Complaint about a scheme participant

The EPC Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) is responsible for investigating breaches or potential breaches of the rulebooks following a complaint made by a scheme participant to the DRC.

Scheme participants wishing to file a complaint against another scheme participant may contact the DRC secretariat.

Further information is available in the EPC Scheme Management Rules.