Belgian banks have become the first in the Eurozone to go live with Verification Of Payee (VOP), ahead of the October 2025 deadline set by the EU Instant Payments Regulation.
European VOP provider SurePay has also become the first vendor live with VOP in Belgium. Through this expansion, banks in Belgium and the Netherlands can now perform mutual VOP checks. This provides enhanced protection for cross-border payments within the EU, including for customers of these banks with accounts in other European countries.
SurePay now processes 200 million VOP checks per month. Once batch payment verification is added, this figure is expected to double.
“This is a major step forward in creating a more secure European payment landscape,” explained David-Jan Janse, CEO of SurePay. “We are seeing strong and growing demand in the market, including for fallback solutions. A successful implementation and go-live sends a clear signal: SurePay is ready to support Europe with VOP compliance and beyond.
“This successful launch was made possible through excellent collaboration with CEC, Febelfin and the participating Belgian banks. Their efforts ensured a smooth and timely implementation, positioning Belgium as a model for other European countries.”
Adopting a country-level approach
Like the Netherlands and Denmark, Belgium has opted for an extended version of the standard VOP service. This enhanced approach provides clearer notifications to payers, more data for banks to detect fraud early, and support for country-specific needs such as multilingualism (French, Dutch and German) and special characters.
As a result, the country enjoys around 30 per cent more effective fraud prevention, higher customer satisfaction, reduced liability for banks, and a safer payment experience for consumers.
Over 200 banks across Europe, including 17 Belgian institutions, have selected SurePay as their trusted provider for UK Confirmation of Payee, EU Verification of Payee, and Swift Beneficiary Account Verification (BaV).
