EPC Newsletter: Progress of SEPA migration and recent legal and regulatory developments impacting the European payments market

30 July 2013

Payment service users should aim to complete migration at the earliest stage possible, taking into consideration that the availability of external resources offered by banks and other service providers will be stretched to the limit before 2013 is over.

However, latest data on the progress of Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) migration suggests that many payment service users plan to complete the transition very close to the 1 February 2014 deadline. This is particularly likely with regard to migration to SDD. The July 2013 edition of the EPC Newsletter reports on the SEPA migration project of the Mazet Group, a medium-sized business in France. This company completed migration to SCT and will be ready for SDD before the end of 2013.

On 24 July 2013, the European Commission introduced a legislative proposal to amend the existing EU Payment Services Directive (PSD). This proposal includes rules on access to payment accounts of bank customers. Payment account access services are also offered by providers currently operating outside the scope of the PSD; i.e. that are neither licensed nor supervised. In his article, entitled: ‘On the Difference between Innovation and the Wild West: How to Ensure the Security of Bank Customers’ Funds and Data with Payment Account Access Services’, EPC Chairman Javier Santamaría outlines key considerations of the EPC with regard to access to consumers’ payment accounts by currently non-licensed, non-supervised third-party service providers. He clarifies: “Convenience is a priority. Security is indispensable. Promoting payment innovation to the benefit of both payers and payees requires combining the two.”

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