The European Association of Cooperative Banks, the European Savings and Retail Banking Group and the European Banking Federation welcome the decision taken today by a group of 16 major European banks to take their European Payments Initiative (EPI) to the next phase.
A
group of major European banks today announced the launch of the
implementation phase of the European Payments Initiative that aims to
create a pan-European payment solution leveraging notably instant SEPA
credit transfers. EPI has the ambition to become the new standard of
payments for European consumers and merchants in all types of payment
transactions [1].
The
European Association of Cooperative Banks, the European Savings and
Retail Banking Group and the European Banking Federation share the view
that the initiative announced today gives an important impetus for the
further evolution of Europe's payments landscape and brings the
potential to swiftly drive Europe's payments market forward. The EPI
addresses several of the building blocks identified [2] by the three associations in their policy paper for building an integrated EU payments market.
In
that, the associations observed the European payments landscape at a
crossroads. Changing customer demands, the development of SEPA
instruments by European banks, an intense regulatory focus and increased
competition, innovation and technological change have driven an
ever-advancing European payments landscape in which much looks possible,
but the risk of fragmentation lurks. At the same time, European
authorities have indicated that payments form an important factor for
European sovereignty and an important driver for the greater
international role of the euro.
A
timely initiative, EPI aims to respond to these challenges. For the EPI
to become a success, it will be important to ensure that the envisaged
payment solution can be supported by all credit institutions in Europe.
In this context, the three associations encourage the EPI banks to
approach the members of their respective associations for discussions
joining the initiative. The associations would also like to stress that
initiative such as EPI can only succeed with the full and continued
support of the European institutions.
[1] ECB press release, European Commission press release, EPI press release
[2] Payments Policy for Europe: direction for the next five years
WSGI ESBG
Key
Hover over the blue highlighted
text to view the acronym meaning
Hover
over these icons for more information
Comments:
No Comments for this Article