TrueLayer, Europe's leading open banking payments network, has officially joined the SEPA Payment Account Access Scheme (SPAA). This initiative is set to redefine the landscape of account-to-account payments in Europe and TrueLayer is the first company to join the scheme.

The SPAA initiative, extending beyond compliance with the European Union’s payments services directive (PSD2), introduces new features designed to support growth in the European open banking ecosystem. Within SPAA, European banks have an opportunity to develop and offer premium open banking APIs and be remunerated for access to these APIs.

Reflecting on the news, Joe Morley, EU CEO at TrueLayer, said: “Our inclusion in the first SPAA register underscores our commitment to innovation and our role in advancing the next era of payments across Europe. 

“SPAA is the long awaited commercial API framework which will allow banks to directly monetise their investment in open banking. It will complement PSD2 and help the EU become a global leader in payments. It represents the start of a new phase, where banks and fintechs collaborate to develop the next generation of account to account payments, to the benefit of European businesses and consumers.

We look forward to continuing to support the development and rollout of SPAA.”

SPAA’s origins go back to 2021 when the European Payments Council was tasked by the European Retail Payments Board to create premium open banking services going beyond PSD2 compliance. The project aims to stimulate the adoption of account-to-account payments, create a meaningful alternative to card companies, and help position the EU as a global digital leader.