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:

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.
- 13 January 2020
- 3 February 2020
- 9 March 2020
- 6 April 2020
- 4 May 2020
- 8 June 2020
- 6 July 2020
- 3 August 2020
- 7 September 2020
- 5 October 2020
- 9 November 2020
- 7 December 2020