01 October 2015

EPC launches a public consultation on draft revised scheme management internal rules

The EPC launched a public consultation on a draft revised version of the Scheme Management Internal Rules (SMIRs). These proposed amendments will further increase the transparency of the evolution of the scheme rulebooks and will enhance the involvement of end-users and technical players in the change management process of the scheme rulebooks.

For instance, an individual or organisation that has submitted a change request can ask the European Payments Council (EPC) to present its change request in further detail to the EPC body in charge of the change management process for the EPC SEPA Schemes. A further example is the proposal to organise the change management process at a minimum every two years (instead of once a year). This will ensure greater scheme stability for the scheme participants and stakeholders.

Scheme participants and other stakeholders are invited to submit written comments on the proposed amendments to the draft revised version of the SMIRs by 31 December 2015.

Following that deadline, the EPC will review all comments received, conclude on a final text of the revised SMIRs and make the final SMIRs publicly available on the EPC Website in the course of the first quarter of 2016. They will become effective 30 calendar days after the approval of the final text by the EPC. This new version of the SMIRs will be applicable for the 90-day public consultation of the SCT / SDD Rulebook Release Management cycle conducted in 2016, which is the next opportunity for all stakeholders to participate in the evolution of the EPC SEPA Schemes.

Full consultation

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