http://www.epo.org/service-support/updates/2019/20190401.html
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Important
changes to fee refund procedures came into force on 1 April 2019.

Applicants can
choose to have refunds credited to either a deposit account held with the EPO
or a bank account. Fees will no longer be refunded by cheque.

In addition,
users will be offered more flexibility with respect to their choice of refund
recipient. Under the revised refund procedures, the EPO will refund
fees to any deposit account as indicated by the applicant or representative/agent
in the refund instructions.

Refund
instructions should preferably be filed in an electronically processable format
(XML) via EPO Online Filing, new online filing (CMS) or ePCT[
1].

If the EPO
cannot make a refund to a deposit account, it will invite the party to the
proceedings to claim the refund via a dedicated portal. Further details can be
found on our website.

Further information