Insights
- Article - Aug 3, 2026
From pilots to progress: what’s really driving AI success in banking
Most banks have AI pilots. Few have results at scale. Six operational choices separate the institutions getting it right from those still stuck.
Payments
Access SEPA through the model that fits your strategy
Process SEPA payments through indirect or direct participation models while managing payment operations through a unified payments layer.
Payment connectivity
Two ways to access SEPA with Mambu Payments
Financial institutions can become SEPA participants indirectly through a sponsor bank, or directly via European clearing and settlement mechanisms. The difference lies in operational responsibility and control.
Indirect SEPA participation
Connect indirectly through a sponsor bank.
Reduced operational and technical overhead
Faster to implement and scale initially
Sponsor bank manages settlement and part of compliance
Best suited for:
Faster market entries
Moderate transaction volumes
Institutions prioritising simplicity and speed
With Mambu Payments:
Access a network of 30+ partner banks
Integrate up to 6x faster
Fully-managed connectivity, from onboarding and maintenance to updates
Direct SEPA participation
Connect directly to STEP2 (SCT, SDD) and TIPS (SCT Inst).
Full control over execution, liquidity, and compliance
Independence from sponsor bank
Ability to become a sponsoring institution
Best suited for:
Institutions requiring full control over operations, onboarding, and risk profiles
High-volume payment flows
Strategic ownership of payment infrastructure
With Mambu Payments:
Fully managed STEP2 and TIPS connectivity
Fully-managed connectivity, from onboarding and maintenance to updates
Why Mambu
Mambu Payments
for SEPA
Mambu Payments combines a global connectivity layer with a modern Payments Hub, allowing you to access SEPA while maintaining a consistent operating model across schemes and markets.
Rather than building and maintaining fragmented infrastructure, institutions can centralise payment operations through a single infrastructure layer.
- Access all SEPA schemes from the same platform
- Managed compliance as rulebooks and formats evolve
- Full lifecycle management, from validation to reconciliation
- Real-time monitoring and status tracking across payment flows
- Unify flows across partner banks, schemes, and networks
- Extend to additional payment rails without changing architecture
Explore how SEPA fits into your architecture
Payments hub
Centralise payment processing, liquidity management and reconciliations across banks and schemes within a single, unified control layer.
Universal gateway
Connect to global payment schemes and partner banks through a fully managed connectivity layer that simplifies multi-bank, multi-scheme payments.
Core banking platform
Power deposits, lending, and payments on a cloud-native core banking platform built to scale modern financial products and digital banking experiences.
Insights
Observations on the future of payments
Let's get started
Move forward
with Mambu
Clear next steps for organisations ready to modernise, scale, and build the future of finance with confidence.
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