She presented the things that remain to be done on SEPA for 2011:
· To define a SEPA migration end date
There is a consensus that an end date is needed for the migration to the SEPA credit transfer (SCT) and SEPA direct debit (SDD). Throughout 2010 representatives from almost every stakeholder group have been calling for a defined end date. Just recently a study conducted by BearingPoint revealed that more than 80% of the banks surveyed consider a binding SEPA migration end date to be necessary. In fact, the majority are in favour of an EU regulation to set one. Of course it is no secret that, despite this general agreement, the details of such a regulation have been widely debated since the summer.
· To establish the requirements for a competitive cards market
Any cards market should meet a number of requirements in order to facilitate competition and efficiency. The principle of separating card scheme management from processing entities is one of the core elements of SEPA that aims to guarantee open access. The SEPA credit transfer and direct debit schemes are built on this principle; it should be applied in the cards market too. This would give banks a range of options to choose from as regards the processing of card payments.
· To move forward with an additional European card scheme
The Eurosystem has been calling for an additional European card scheme for four years. Therefore, we are closely monitoring the work of the three initiatives that have been launched. It is important to emphasise that we have not selected any “favourite” out of the three projects, but treat all three equally.
·
To innovate
Europe is still a patchwork of national online markets, and Europeans are prevented from enjoying the benefits of a single digital market. Traditional payment instruments still dominate payments for e-commerce. However, they were not designed to cope with the needs of the online world and often cannot be used for cross-border transactions. Among these payment instruments, cash on delivery, credit transfers upon receipt of an invoice and the provision of card credentials to merchants play an important role.
· Not to forget about security
Clearly, SEPA requires a harmonised minimum level of security for retail payments to ensure transparency and a level playing field.
© ECB - European Central Bank
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