The Future of Peppol

Peppol has an exciting future ahead of it. We are exploring new areas and coming up with innovative ways to deliver services far beyond our original focus in invoicing and procurement.

Our approach is generic and widely applicable: we standardise the way information is structured and exchanged on an open network, supported by our scalable governance and agreement framework.

This is done by connecting public and private sector organisations through the use of Peppol-certified Service Providers, removing barriers to trade created by closed (‘three-corner’) networks.

In short, we provide a set of document specifications that integrate global business processes. And we deliver the governance to make it work.

Supporting the increasing adoption of Peppol around the world, we have two major developments under way

Peppol International Invoicing

This initiative will create a global eInvoicing model, bringing cross-border eInvoicing to reality, and becoming the new norm for adoption in both new and existing jurisdictions that utilise Peppol.

Work is already under way to adopt the model in Japan, and we expect it to support the development of Peppol-compliant specifications in the USA, following the BPC Semantic Model.

Peppol CTC

Tax Administrations around the world are taking an increasing interest in the digitalisation of indirect tax reporting (such as VAT), with a recognition that eInvoicing is the key building block, providing efficiencies for business whilst managing tax collection.

The development of Peppol Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC) is well under way, with initial specifications in place, supported by a ‘playground’ environment for testing by Service Providers and Tax Administrations. Peppol CTC is likely to become a key entry point for new jurisdictions looking for interoperability efficiencies in the public and private sectors.

As Peppol adoption increases, we are increasing our collaboration with key partners

  • OpenPeppol and the European E-invoicing Service Providers Association (EESPA) are aligning their efforts, having already co-created the Global Interoperability Framework.
  • Cooperation with GS1 in the context of a new Digital Product Passport specification utilising the Peppol Interoperability Framework
  • Becoming a trusted advisor in our field of expertise, helping international agencies, government organisations and academic institutions

These collaborative efforts will further strengthen and extend the breadth and depth of Peppol, increasing its adoption worldwide.

Looking further forward, we can expect to see developments in new domains and technologies:

  • Logistics – handling standardised messages between buyers, sellers and their logistics providers, based on the Universal Business Language/ISO standards
  • Payment initialisation – handling standardised and secured messages between payees and their banks, based on the ISO 20022 framework
  • eGovernment – handling message-based information exchange, within the public sector and between public sector organisations and citizens/businesses
  • Security – strengthened security measures such as end-to-end encryption and full message traceability
  • Blockchain – evaluating distributed ledger technology for application within Peppol

Peppol International invoicing, Peppol CTC, new domains, and increasing collaboration are all key areas for the future of Peppol.

Peppol is changing the way the world trades. If you work in a domain that you think could benefit from the Peppol approach, please contact us.

Peppol. The future is open

André Hoddevik

Secretary General, OpenPeppol

March 2022