BORICA is the only certified provider of the Verification of Payee (VoP) Scheme in Bulgaria
After successfully completing the registration and technical compliance process, BORICA became the only Bulgarian provider listed to date in the public register of the European Payments Council (EPC). This puts our country among the technologically advanced markets in Europe, where consumer protection against online transfer fraud is guaranteed by checking the match between the IBAN and the payee's name. This is also a step forward in building an integrated and in-depth analytical approach to preventing financial fraud in instant payments. The new “Verification of Payee” service, which will be available in Bulgaria from October 2025, is designed to prevent one of the most common online frauds – the so-called APP frauds (Authorised Push Payment frauds), in which consumers themselves, but being misled, order transfers to fraudsters. "The experience of other European countries indicates that with the proper implementation of the service, cases of online transfer fraud can be reduced by over 70%. This is particularly important for protecting vulnerable consumer groups," emphasizes Vanya Ganeva, Director of Payment Services at BORICA.
Security with a single match: IBAN and payee’s name
“Verification of Payee” works on the principle of preliminary validation. When you enter the payee's IBAN and name, the system automatically checks whether the payee's name matches the actual account holder. This allows users to detect discrepancies as early as before confirming the payment, thus avoiding fraud, errors, and legal difficulties. According to data from the European Commission, over EUR 1.5 billion is lost annually due to APP fraud. In 2024 alone, hundreds of such cases were reported in Bulgaria, with the largest fraud amounting to USD 10 million.
Bulgarian contribution to European cybersecurity
The “Verification of Payee” service will be mandatory for all SEPA payments – both instant and standard – under the new Instant Payment Regulation (IPR). It must be available across all digital channels – online and mobile banking – which requires a high level of technical readiness. As a certified provider in the role of Routing and Verification Mechanism (RVM), BORICA offers three options for integration with the system, which meet all regulatory requirements and ensure fast and secure payee verification in real time. With its three options, BORICA offers:
- verification of the match between the IBAN and the payee's name
- 24/7 access to the service with a response time of up to 5 seconds
- secure communication with other payment service providers (PSPs) and RVM providers in Europe
- possibility for batch processing of requests
The solution also includes additional functionalities, such as automatic extraction of BIC from the IBAN and the option to store data in BORICA's infrastructure. This allows PSPs to save time, resources, and effort for technical integration and regulatory compliance.
The pilot launch for the first banks is scheduled for October.
Starting in October 2025, one Bulgarian bank and three foreign branches of Bulgarian banks will roll out a pilot service for their euro transfers. The regulation requires that by the end of 2026, all payment service providers in Bulgaria should have integrated VoP into all their channels. "As a technology partner, our mission is not only to ensure a high level of security and regulatory compliance, but also to make the transition to the new requirements as easy and smooth as possible for financial institutions in Bulgaria. We strive to take on the burden of complex technical and regulatory work so that they can focus on their core business and serve their customers with confidence and peace of mind," adds Vanya Ganeva.
With the introduction of the “Verification of Payee” service, our country is taking a key step towards a more secure and transparent payment environment. This not only protects consumers and businesses from fraud but also establishes Bulgaria as an active and dependable participant in the European financial ecosystem. All this will contribute to increasing the confidence in digital payments and will support the sustainable development of payment services in the country in the coming years.
