The European Payments Council (EPC) is pleased to announce the launch of its API Reference Toolbox (ART) test and self-certification platform for the Verification Of Payee (VOP) scheme, in collaboration with StreamMind. StreamMind will deliver and operate both the platform and support services. StreamMind has been chosen as the ART provider following a Request for Proposal (RFP) process and subsequent approval by the EPC Board in March 2025.

ART test and self-certification platform for the VOP scheme

The VOP scheme allows Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to meet the Instant Payment Regulation (IPR) requirement to offer an IBAN-name check service before payers authorise a payment via credit transfer or instant credit transfer.

VOP is a scheme based on APIs that is expected to be implemented by thousands of PSPs in Europe, in time for the regulatory deadline of October 2025. While the parallel setup of the EPC Directory Service aims at securing European-wide reachability and allow the routing of API calls, with the introduction of the ART test and self-certification platform the EPC aims to mitigate interoperability risks among VOP scheme participants, ahead of the scheme's go-live on 5 October 2025.

The EPC expects that several PSPs will use the services provided by Routing and/or Verification Mechanisms (RVMs) for facilitating participation to the VOP Scheme. Compliance with the VOP API specifications by RVMs and by PSPs not using RVMs will be crucial for a successful go-live of the VOP scheme, therefore the EPC will require or recommend these players to successfully complete a self-certification test based on the ART platform. 

Giorgio Andreoli, Director General of the EPC, stated: “For the first time, an EPC Scheme like VOP will be required to scale-up massively in just six months. The adoption of a self-certification process based on the ART platform will play a key role in fostering interoperability. For this purpose, we are delighted to have selected StreamMind following an open RFP process involving several prominent European and global IT service providers.”

Nicolas Muhadri, CEO of StreamMind said: “As CEO of StreamMind, Deeptech with a long-standing experience and expertise in payments and in Verification of Payee software solutions, I am extremely proud and honoured that our software technology for Verification of Payee, Dealprudence, has been chosen by the European Payments Council to offer the API Reference Toolbox (ART) platform and thus to help RVMs and PSPs community facilitate both their interoperability and guaranty their compliance with the VOP EPC scheme”. 

Next Steps

The ART platform will be introduced gradually, starting with a pilot in the next weeks involving a limited number of participants, and will be progressively made available to the broader community in the next few months.