31 August 2011

SEPA from the perspective of ECB Executive Board Member, Peter Praet

Mr Praet stressed that despite the controversy, it is necessary to determine a clear deadline for migration to the SEPA credit transfer and the SEPA direct debit, in order to bring SEPA to a successful conclusion.

The SEPA project was largely dominated by the intense debate on the proposal to set an end-date for the migration to SEPA by regulation. A great deal of time and many resources of both public authorities and the financial sector have gone into shaping the proposal by the European Commission.

This has not been an easy process, and there has been some controversy between the European Commission and the financial industry with regard to the contents and coverage of the regulation, particularly the technical requirements for credit transfers and direct debits and the direct debit interchange. The Eurosystem expects the SEPA credit transfer and the SEPA direct debit, which can comply with the technical requirements, to become the credit transfer and direct debit schemes used for euro payments in the EU. Where direct debit interchange is concerned, the draft regulation now provides legal certainty.

There are several reasons why innovation in retail payments is difficult. Consumer demand is a very significant factor in payments — the response of the general public to any new means of payment can make or break it. It has often been argued that many consumers dislike change. Recently, the Payments Council in the United Kingdom had to cancel the target for the possible closure of the cheque clearing in 2018 due to complaints from stakeholders.

Mr Praet concluded by saying that:

“The three “Es” – the European Payments Council, the Eurosystem and the European Commission – largely favour the integration and modernisation of the retail payments market. While there are sometimes differences in their understanding of how best to achieve these goals, I am confident that we have managed, and will continue to manage, to successfully drive our vision of SEPA forward”.

Full speech

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