The turn-key solution for single Euro payment processing
STEP1 is a payment service for individual commercial payments, complementary to EURO1. It offers a direct and cost-effective access to a highly resilient single euro payment processing infrastructure. Thanks to its low joining and running costs as well as its wide reach across and beyond Europe, STEP1 provides considerable value to smaller and medium-sized banks.
STEP1 Banks can directly exchange payments with each other, as well as with the entire community of EURO1 Banks. While STEP1 Banks are not involved in the risk and loss sharing arrangements of EURO1, they benefit from the robust technical and legal framework of EURO1.
The limited technical arrangements required for connecting to STEP1 and the operational simplicity of the service allow for significant cost savings by the participating banks. Admission to STEP1 requires neither a minimum credit rating nor a minimum of own funds. A STEP1 Participant settles with a EURO1 Bank of its choice, which in turn provides the STEP1 Participant with the liquidity it requires in the system.
The EURO1/STEP1 Directory further broadens the reach for EURO1/STEP1 Banks by allowing them to list their reachable banks (branches, subsidiaries and correspondent banks) worldwide. Today, close to 17,000 BICs can be reached directly or indirectly via the EURO1/STEP1 platform.
The STEP1 Participants and Sub-Participants benefit from the liquidity-saving arrangements and the legal certainty provided by EURO1/STEP1, an RTGS-equivalent system operating on a multilateral net basis granting immediate finality for every processed payment.
Pan-European access
Operational simplicity
Low costs
Flexibility
Extensive reach
Full resilience