EBA CLEARING’s Request To Pay Solution To Launch Next Fall

EBA CLEARING is launching a request to pay (R2P) solution in Europe and created specifications with the input of 27 financial institutions from 11 countries, EBA announced in a press release on Monday (Dec. 16).

With the R2P solution scheduled to go live in November 2020, the specifications are being provided to future users and their associated technical service providers.

“We are very pleased to share the specifications of our R2P solution with interested payment service providers and their suppliers almost a year ahead of the go-live of the service. With the speedy delivery of these specs and the open and transparent approach for sharing them, we hope to further contribute to the creation of a forward-looking pan-European payments ecosystem taking full advantage of real-time messaging” said Erwin Kulk, head of service development and management, EBA CLEARING.

He added that payment service providers (PSPs) and payment operators have worked diligently “to create both critical mass and pan-European reach.”

As the payments environment continues to develop, R2P is regarded as a crucial component. The European Payments Council (EPC) is continuing to work on R2P’s operability after being asked by the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB) for an analysis.

A pan-European request to pay solution is considered “missing piece of the puzzle” for real-time payment services, according to an EBA white paper.

“As detailed in our white paper, we believe the time is right for putting into reality a pan-European request to pay solution that allows existing end-user solutions to interconnect and, at the same time, provides the basis for the development of new pan-European payment solutions,” EBA CLEARING CEO Hays Littlejohn said in a September press release.

European banks have increasingly used faster payments since the November 2017 launch of EBA CLEARING’s RT1 instant payments system. Fraud is one of the bigger obstacles faced by banks, FinTechs and other financial players that wish to adopt instant payments. They must have the infrastructure to handle the speed and while also providing the necessary security.