Your Verification Of Payee Questions Answered: Compliance Timeline, Challenges & Expert Insights

The countdown for Verification Of Payee (VOP) compliance is already underway. Following the January 31st 2025 opt-out deadline, banks and PSPs are moving towards full VOP implementation. The key date to remember is October 9th 2025, when all European PSPs providing SEPA payments must have VOP.

To dive into the critical role of VOP, the regulatory landscape, and key implementation challenges, we ran a live webinar with industry experts from Ozone API and Thistle Initiatives on: Unlocking the Power of Verification Of Payee. Watch the webinar here.

Our attendees asked some great questions, so we’ve complied the answers given to us by the experts during the webinar all in one place… here!

What can we learn from Confirmation of Payee?

A lot of tier 2 PSPs in the UK chose an integration partner for CoP, so in terms of the build or buy case study, VOP, just like CoP, lends itself to a buy approach, particularly given the complexity and timescale. 

How can Verification Of Payee help me solve APP fraud?

Verification Of Payee (VOP) is a fraud prevention and security measure that ensures a payment is being sent to the correct person or business by verifying the payee’s details before the transaction is processed. The matching of account details helps reduce potential fraud either by showing an incorrect input.

What are the benefits of using an RVM to implement VOP?

In the short term, outsourcing the build work to an RVM partner can help PSPs to hit the deadline. In the longer term using an RVM to support VOP means PSPs don’t have to worry about the operations and maintenance costs associated with building VOP in-house.

An RVM does all the heavy lifting and takes the regularity burden off your hands. They can access the directory, they can do the routing, all on your behalf.  

How do I choose between building a VOP solution in-house and outsourcing to an RVM?

PSPs should consider their specific scenario, but most will choose to use an RVM to reduce implementation cost and complexity as well as simplifying the longer term needs of maintaining the VOP solution as the scheme and requirements evolve. 

RVMs can simplify the integration process for PSPs in a number of ways whether on the VOP APIs, or on the EPC directory integration.

How should I select an RVM and are there considerations to take into account when selecting one? Are there any certificates or credentials I need to be aware of?

PSPs need PSD2 QWAC certs to make requests, RVMs are unable to provide this for the PSP. Consider the integration and features supported by the RVM. Ensure you’re working with a partner who will have time to support you on the journey, because there are still a fair few unknowns.

What are the steps I should be taking now to ensure I meet the implementation deadline?

First you need to understand how VOP applies to you:

• What payment channels?
• What payment types?
• What account types? 
• Account / branch structure?

You then need to submit the onboarding documents to the EPC, get a PSD2 QWAC certificate if you don’t already have one, and then start speaking to some RVMs.

What’s Ozone API’s pricing for Verification Of Payee implementation support?

Our VOP pricing is easy to understand and totally transparent. Plus, it scales right along with your needs! Ready to explore how we can support you? We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch.