Overview
SEPAmail is a secure messaging service for all the European economic entities.
SEPAmail uses secure XML flows, which use BIC and IBAN as the reference identifier.
Thanks to the Internet and W3C standards, SEPAmail is able to provide a system for complex exchanges between bank customers at a global level at a reduced cost.
This new interbank network is intended to be a contribution from the banking industry to the Lisbon and Europe 2020 agenda. Its aim is to facilitate dematerialised exchanges between economic entities.
Background
SEPAmail is an innovation project which was launched in 2008. Its aim is to provide a secure interbank messaging service to be used principally for payment-related non-accounting documents, e.g. invoices, money orders, quotes, notifications, etc.
This concept was detailed from a technical point of view. A series of structured messages was defined for direct debit-related flows. A partnership was signed with SFR on the basis of this concept in order to implement a pilot based on real flows.
Prerequisites
In order to fully understand the present document, a number of notions are assumed to be known and thoroughly understood. Below is a list of assumed knowledge:
- how electronic mail operates: its structure (RFC 822 and following RFCs, as well as S/MIME standards), how it is sent (MTA to MTA), potential protocol errors, etc.
- how DNS works
- a good understanding of cryptography, for example based on the Wikipedia cryptology portal
If you consult the documentation on the SEPAmail wiki, it is also recommended that you understand beforehand what a wiki is, how it works and how to interact with it.