From cross-border payments innovation to regulatory fatigue, the recent EBAday 2025 conference showcased how collaboration across financial ecosystems is critical for tackling complexities facing banks and corporates operating in the Eurozone.

Though Euro-centric, EBAday also caters to a global audience, and payments leaders from around the world converged at The Carrousel du Louvre in Paris to discuss a panoply of industry issues. Among the most talked-about included the G20 payments vision, instant payments implementation, ISO 20022 migration, and the upcoming Verification of Payee (VOP) deadline, naming just a few central themes of the event.

Collectively, these initiatives are seen as making payments faster, cheaper, and more transparent, while improving security and user experience. An ecosystem model for large B2B payments was reflected in much of the event’s programming.

But the changes underway also benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have historically faced issues with cross-border transactions and complex business payment scenarios.

"What we're seeing is a convergence of regulatory mandates, technological innovation, and industry collaboration, all aimed at solving key pain points in business payments," said John Ballantyne, Head of Sales for Banks and FIs at Bottomline, who was in attendance.

He noted that these seemingly separate efforts are, in fact, deeply interconnected.

"The common thread is making payments more efficient, secure, and accessible across borders," he said.

 

G20 Roadmap: The ‘North Star’ for Global Payments

The G20 roadmap for cross-border payments serves as a guiding framework for the industry, setting ambitious targets for speed, cost, and transparency. This project recognizes that businesses, especially SMEs, need reliable and affordable payment solutions to operate effectively in the global marketplace.

"The G20 payments vision acts as a North Star for the global payments industry," Ballantyne said. "It's driving harmonization across what has historically been a fragmented landscape of payment systems and regulations."

However, implementation hurdles remain. Different jurisdictions are moving at dissimilar speeds, creating potential new silos even as they work toward greater interoperability. The success of The G20 payments vision depends on consistent implementation of standards like ISO 20022, as well as joint efforts to ensure that systems can operate across borders.

 

Verification of Payee: A Critical October Deadline

A pressing topic at EBAday this year was the upcoming Verification of Payee (VOP) go-live, set for October 25, 2025. This involves some 3,500 financial institutions and proposes to reduce payment fraud by verifying recipient details before transactions are completed.

VOP follows the successful implementation of the Confirmation of Payee (CoP) standard in the UK in 2020. The two processes have more than a little in common, such as the time and effort it takes to get a major new payment verification standard up and running.

"VOP represents a significant step forward in fraud prevention, but the implementation timeline is ambitious," Ballantyne said. "We need harmonized rules across institutions to ensure consistency in how verification is performed and communicated to users."

The European Payments Council (EPC) has issued a VOP scheme rulebook to guide implementation, but challenges remain, he added.

Payment service providers (PSPs) must adopt the EPC's API specifications while managing the risk of false positives that could disrupt legitimate transactions. Ballantyne said clear communication with users will be essential to manage expectations during this transition.

 

ISO 20022 Migration: Beyond Compliance to Strategic Transformation

As expected, the mass migration to the ISO 20022 standard was a marquee topic, with the November 2025 deadline approaching rapidly. Financial institutions are at varying stages of adoption, with some still relying on translation services, rather than implementing natively.

"The ISO migration isn't just a compliance exercise,” Ballantyne said. “It's a strategic transformation that enables rich, structured data to flow through the payment ecosystem."

He added, "This enhanced data structure supports automation, improves compliance processes, and ultimately delivers a better customer experience."

The long-term benefits of ISO 20022 are substantial, including improved straight-through processing rates (STP), enhanced reconciliation capabilities, and better fraud detection. However, realizing these benefits requires institutions to move beyond minimal compliance and embrace the full potential of the standard.

 

Balancing Innovation and Compliance with Regulatory Complexity

A significant concern voiced at EBAday was the growing complexity of the regulatory landscape. Financial institutions are facing compliance fatigue as they navigate an ever-expanding set of requirements across different geographies.

"There's genuine concern about the volume of regulations and their impact on innovation," Ballantyne said. "Fragmentation across jurisdictions creates additional complexity, and institutions are struggling to keep pace while still focusing on core business objectives."

The industry is calling for greater regulatory synchronization and more collaborative approaches to regulation. Regulatory sandboxes and public-private partnerships were mentioned as potential models for developing more effective, balanced rule frameworks.

 

Collaboration: The Key to Unlocking Payment Innovation

Perhaps the most consistent theme throughout EBAday was the critical importance of collaboration across the payments ecosystem.

It was clear that many tasks facing the industry are too complex for any entity to solve alone. "The future of payments depends on effective collaboration among banks, fintechs, payment businesses, corporates, and regulators," Ballantyne said. "We need to break down silos and work together to create solutions that truly address the needs of businesses."

This collaborative approach extends to technological implementation. As banks and FIs adopt new standards and systems, they must ensure interoperability with existing infrastructure, and with the systems used by their partners and customers.

 

Transforming the Business Payments Landscape

The convergence of regulatory initiatives, technological innovation, and collaborative efforts is creating the potential for a transformed business payments architecture.

"We're at a pivotal moment in the evolution of payments," Ballantyne said. "If we can successfully implement these interconnected initiatives while maintaining focus on the end-user experience, we have the opportunity to create a payment ecosystem that is faster, more secure, and more accessible than ever before."

The work ahead is vital as banks and FIs work to meet the October VOP deadline and the November ISO 20022 migration deadline, among others. Ballantyne said those approaching new requirements strategically, with an eye on long-term transformation rather than mere compliance, will be positioned to thrive in a new payments landscape.