Paris, 22 March 2023
EBA CLEARING to enrich RT1 and STEP2 with fraud prevention and detection capabilities
• The comprehensive solution will add insights from a central system view to the fraud-fighting efforts of STEP2 and RT1 users
• The new capabilities will include a pan-European IBAN/name check by November 2023
EBA CLEARING announced today that it will enrich its SEPA payment systems, RT1 and STEP2, with fraud prevention and detection capabilities by November 2023. The Company’s new Fraud Pattern and Anomaly Detection (FPAD) solution will support RT1 and STEP2 users in complementing their fraud-fighting tools and assessments with insights from a central network view.
FPAD will cover a broad range of real-time fraud prevention and detection tools. The solution will also include ‘confirmation of payee’ functionality, which will allow PSPs to flexibly integrate into their service offerings to the ability for customers to detect any mismatches in the IBAN/name combination they have entered for the beneficiary of a payment. This will enable users to address fraud prevention requirements set forth in the proposed Instant Payments Regulation.
Michele Olin, Chair of the Board of EBA CLEARING, said:
“Over the last 25 years, banks from all across Europe have come together under the roof of EBA CLEARING to create innovative payment infrastructures that are pan-European by design and desire. Our users are keen to tackle fraud prevention and detection together in a similar way.
The central view that our retail payment systems can offer is unique: with full SEPA reach, we connect 5,000 PSPs in total and process over 67 million payments per day on average, including both credit transfers and direct debits. A centralised solution with this network view will be able to provide an extremely rich picture that complements the view of the PSP. This should allow our users to better combat fraud across Europe efficiently and in real time to protect their customers.”
Hays Littlejohn, CEO of EBA CLEARING, said:
“Many fraud patterns and other anomalies can only be detected at network level, since fraudsters usually act across many accounts, institutions and even countries. That’s where our pan-European FPAD solution comes in to provide additional insights that only a central network view can generate. FPAD will be an integral part of RT1 and STEP2, available to all our users. It will allow them to take their payment solutions to the next level and capture value around SEPA and instant payments in particular.”
The development of EBA CLEARING’s FPAD solution started in early 2023 following the release of a blueprint and subsequent RT1 and STEP2 user consultation in Q4 2022. The pan-European solution is being designed with the support of interested STEP2 and RT1 participants; it will be delivered in a phased approach, starting with transaction and account risk assessment modules. These first modules, including functionality allowing PSPs to request an IBAN/name matching check, will become available in November 2023.
About EBA CLEARING
EBA CLEARING is a provider of pan-European payment infrastructure solutions processing 19 billion payments a year. Founded in 1998, the company is owned by 48 of the major banks operating in Europe and is based on a country-neutral governance model. The payment systems of EBA CLEARING are pan-European by design and desire: they are developed in close co-operation with the company’s multinational user community and best-of-breed technology partners.
EBA CLEARING manages and operates the payment services EURO1, STEP1, STEP2 and RT1. Both EURO1 and STEP2 have been classified as systemically important payment systems (SIPS) by the European Central Bank. RT1, the first pan-European real-time payment system, went live in 2017 and processes euro instant payments complying with the European Payments Council’s SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Scheme. In 2021, EBA CLEARING launched R2P, a request to pay messaging infrastructure service.
For more information on EBA CLEARING, please visit www.ebaclearing.eu, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.