30 Sep Verification of Payee (VOP): New European regulation for SEPA payments
From October 9, 2025, European banks must offer Beneficiary Verification (BV) free of charge for SEPA payments. This system allows beneficiary information to be verified at the remittance or transaction level, enhancing security and reducing fraud for SEPA payments and even more so for instant payments, which are irrevocable. In any case, it is an optional procedure. Companies will be able to choose to activate verification for SEPA payments or opt out of using it. Kyriba will integrate the new VOP Ack (Acknowledgment) into its platform for corporate clients, displaying the result in payment status tracking, thereby ensuring compliance with this new regulation.
What is Verification of Payee (VOP)?
Beneficiary Verification (BV) is a new European regulatory requirement for banks, which obliges them to offer a free system that verifies, in SEPA payments, that the beneficiary’s information is accurate and truthful. This applies to both SEPA payments and instant payments.
Objectif of VOP
The main objective is to increase security and reduce fraud and erroneous payments, especially in instant payments, which are irrevocable.
- Mandatory for banks from October 5, 2025.
- It is not mandatory for corporate customers, but if they choose not to use it, they assume responsibility for the payment as before.
is will give treasurers and CFOs an additional layer of confidence in their payment processes.
How does VOP work?
The issuing bank requests, via API, that the receiving bank verify the correspondence of the beneficiary information provided. Additional identifiers (TIN, LEI, etc.) may be included, bearing in mind that LEI is set to prevail over any other European means of identification.
Options for companies
Companies can:
- Opt for verification on each payment (“Opt in”).
- Opt out of verification (“Opt out”).
- Request third-party pre-validation (“Pre-validation”) by sending specific files for prior validation.
Possible verification results
- Full match
- No match
- Close match
- Not possible to perform VOP
Reports and reporting
Banks will send reports with new statuses in PSR files (Pain.002), indicating the verification result at the remittance and transaction level.
Kyriba strategy
What you can expect from your platform:
- Kyriba is not subject to regulation, but will integrate PSR reports related to VOP for corporate clients who opt for verification.
- The verification result will be displayed in the payment status tracking tab and in the individual transaction log.
- The pre-validation option will be available in the fraud module via the “CheckPayment” API.
Limitations and particularities
It will not be possible to authorize or cancel payments in Kyriba after reviewing the VOP result; this must be done directly with the bank.
The interpretation of the regulations may vary depending on the country and protocol (for example, EBICS in Germany has specific restrictions).
Practical recommendations
Companies can opt for IBAN/name verification services in Kyriba (Trustpair) to pre-validate before sending payments to the bank.
Kyriba will adapt its developments according to regional particularities and regulatory developments.
Verification of Payee (VOP) marks a step forward in SEPA payment security.
Although it will not be mandatory for companies, it does represent an opportunity to strengthen controls, reduce risks, and optimize payment processes.
At All CMS, we support finance teams in adopting these new developments, ensuring that each regulatory change becomes an opportunity for treasury improvement.
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