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.
- 10 January 2022
- 7 February 2022
- 7 March 2022
- 4 April 2022
- 9 May 2022
- 6 June 2022
- 4 July 2022
- 8 August 2022
- 5 September 2022
- 3 October 2022
- 7 November 2022
- 5 December 2022