2,600 banks across Europe will take part in the launch of the SEPA direct debit

13 October 2009 - SEPA phase I now complete – Association of German Banks publishes revised booklet

More than 2,600 European banks will be in at the launch of the European direct debit on 2 November 2009. “In Germany, almost all the private banks which offer their clients payment services will take part,” Hans-Joachim Massenberg, Deputy General Manager of the Association of German Banks, announced in Berlin. In one year's time at the latest, when legislation takes effect, they will have been joined by all the banks.

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA for short) was launched in the European Union in January 2008 with standardised credit transfers and card payments. At the beginning of November 2009, the SEPA direct debit will follow. “German consumers and companies will then have access to the same payment facilities throughout Europe as those already familiar to them at home,” underlined Massenberg.

Though this completed phase I of SEPA implementation, Mr Massenberg stressed that two tasks remained. Customers continued to use the SEPA instruments primarily for cross-border payments. It was crucial, however, to use them for domestic payments as well. Massenberg called once again on pubic authorities and firms in particular to make greater use of SEPA schemes as this was the only way to make the internal market a reality in the payments sector too. “We therefore expect policymakers – especially at national level – to support the SEPA more strongly than has been the case up to now.”

It was also clear that SEPA schemes would gradually have to replace national schemes during phase II. The Association of German Banks pointed to a European Commission survey which found that all market participants would like to see a fixed, pan-European changeover date set by lawmakers. “This reflects our experience,” Massenberg added. “The euro was also not introduced to be used in parallel, and thus in competition, with national currencies, but replaced them completely.”

SEPA Booklet

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