Key features

The key features that the STEP2 SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) Service offers to the participants are: 

• fully SCT Scheme-compliant payment processing
• send - settle - deliver principle: STEP2 brings no risk to participant operations
• highly automated processes of maximum resilience
• full STP processing of all transactions including R-transactions, such as returns
• use of ISO 20022 standards
• payment warehousing and cycle scheduling, which allows participants to choose up to three business days in advance on which date and in which period a payment should be processed
• continuous gross settlement of payments in immediately available euro-denominated central bank funds
• monitoring facilities via the Direct Participant Web Station (DPWS), which provides real-time information on liquidity positions, the status of files or payments in the system, and routing table information
• value-adding Fraud Pattern and Anomaly Detection (FPAD) functionality helping PSPs combat fraud by contributing insights from a network view

By using the STEP2 SCT Service, participants can:

• benefit from the low entry costs, competitive transaction pricing and the fastest delivery channel
• provide their customers with a state-of-the-art SCT Scheme-compliant service
• decrease costs by reaching SEPA financial institutions through one access point, by using one channel with one standard interface and by integrating their liquidity for mass SEPA payments in one place

Returns can be sent/received mixed with other payments or in separate files.

This functionality consists of the sending of payment files on settlement day.

This feature enables the resending of failed settlement instructions in order to limit the occurrence of cases when settlement is not completed and leads to the sending of CPFs (Cancelled Payments Files).

Payments or files sent up to three business days ahead of the value date are warehoused and released to the system on the value date.

A web service allows cancellation of warehoused payments or files prior to the start of the relevant liquidity adjustment checkpoint (LAC).

Participants can inquire upon the status of their payment instructions and files using an interactive workstation. Additionally, they can download the entire up-to-date routing table.