STEP1 Participants

A bank needs to fulfil the following criteria to be able to participate in the STEP1 Service:

  • Be authorised to conduct banking business
  • Participate in the STEP1 Service from its registered address or a branch located in the EU 
  • Be a member of the Euro Banking Association. Neither a minimum credit rating nor a minimum of own funds are required to participate in the service. 

STEP1 Sub-Participants

In order to qualify as a sub-participant in STEP1, a bank has to be 

  • established in an EEA location
  • a consolidated affiliate of a participant in the STEP1 Service, as evidenced by the accounts of the participant.

Participants may also include branches as sub-addresses.

Joining windows

Joining windows for STEP1 are available on a monthly basis, respecting the following timeline:

Joining process
Joining process

Future change dates

The following dates are agreed with SWIFT for changes to STEP1 provisioning. This includes the connection of new participants to the systems and the addition of sub-participants as sub-addresses.  

  • 3 July 2017 
  • 7 August 2017 
  • 4 September 2017 
  • 9 October 2017 
  • 6 November 2017 
  • 4 December 2017 

Please note that there will be a freeze period from 15 December 2017 to 12 January 2018.