The Scheme Technical Player Multi-Stakeholder Group (STP ) is a dialogue channel between the European Payments Council ( ) and representatives of technical players who provide services facilitating the processing of transactions under the ’s Single Euro Payments Area ( ) payment schemes and payment-related schemes.
The STP held its third meeting on 29 March 2023. The approved agenda and minutes are available on this page.
During this meeting, the STP obtained a detailed update on the achievements for the Request-To-Pay ( ) scheme rulebook and on the next steps the was currently considering for this payment-related scheme. The STP also discussed the scheme implementation status at that point in time and any current obstacles for the further uptake of that scheme.
The STP further discussed the Instant Credit Transfer ( ) scheme implementation status at that point in time. The main topics were the European Commission’s proposal on instant payments and its expected impact on the scheme, the European Commission’s proposal for a Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service and the ’s current intentions for such CoP concept, the scheme adherence status and projections, and the prospects and current obstacles for the further use of the scheme.
The STP was informed about the setting up a multi-disciplinary work block on how to maintain the payment schemes future-proof. The STP members were invited to submit their candidacy for this work block.
The STP was reminded about the change-over to the 2019 version of the ISO 20022 standard-based XML messaging on 19 November 2023 for all four payment schemes, and about the -wide downtime on 19 November 2023 from 03h00 CET to 03h30 for the scheme to facilitate this migration. Several members reported that not every Clearing and Settlement Mechanism (CSM) had yet issued its own technical specifications/guidelines. This prevents the payments service providers ( ) using these to continue with their implementation and testing of the necessary 2019 version XML message definitions in their payment systems.
The STP members were also reminded that only a structured address of the payment service user can be used in payment messages as of November 2025. This change affects all four payment scheme rulebooks. The realised that the main issues concern uncommon or exotic addresses, concrete software updates and finally the early and clear communication towards corporate customers and ERP software providers. All members understood they should act as communication multiplicators about this change within their national communities and/or within their respective sectors.
The STP was informed about the Credit Transfer ( ) and Direct Debit ( ) r-transaction statistics for the period 2018 to 2022.
The STP was also guided through a detailed presentation about the characteristics of the version 1.0 of the 2023 One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer ( ) scheme rulebook (EPC158-22). The published the scheme rulebook, some adjacent documents and a separate Question & Answer ( ) document ( 095-23) on 28 March 2023.
The STP members were also invited to share possible change requests for the 2024 payment scheme rulebook change management cycle.
There are still vacant seats available within one STP membership category. Further information about the criteria to be a candidate, and how to apply for membership, is available in the Terms of Reference of the STP MSG. Application letters including an up-to-date CV in English should be sent to [email protected].