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Faster Payments Standards Library intros free-to-use validation tool, new messaging schema

September 15, 2017

The Faster Payments scheme, the U.K.'s 24/7 real-time payment service, has introduced what it describes as "significant enhancements" to the Faster Payments Standards Library.

The interactive, free-to-use standards model for stakeholders across the payments industry now includes a new validation tool and 88 individual message schema, according to a press release. 

The enhancements will streamline messaging standards across the payments issue by converting 88 individual messages from the ISO 8583 standard currently used by the Faster Payments infrastructure to and from the ISO 20022 standard, the release said.

Additionally, the library now features validation functionality that allows testing of XML messages with the syntax of both the FPS ISO 8583 and ISO 20022 standards specifications.

This ensures that message content is correct, enabling error-free messages to be created more quickly and reducing the time required for testing.

"These enhancements are the next step towards a globally recognized standard for Faster Payments messaging, with the potential to unlock further innovation across the payments industry and make real-time, 24/7 payments a reality for millions of additional users," Faster Payments Head of Development Mike Banyard said in the release.

The Faster Payments Standards Library is intended to be used as a guide and provide a validation tool for developers who wish to provide an interface to the Faster Payments Central Infrastructure.

The library, which boasts approximately 300 registered users from 38 nations, offers information about message standards in a simple and user-friendly format, the release said.