EPC Annual Activity Report 2010: "Innovation must not be hampered by the European Commissions intended interference"

The European Payments Council (EPC), the coordination and decision-making body of the European banking industry in relation to payments, has published its Annual Activity Report 2010. According to the EPC press release announcing the availability of the report, the latter’s message is clear - incentivised by market demand, self-regulation by banks provides the most efficient means to create innovative, effective, secure and stress-resistant payment systems.

According to the EPC, the payment schemes and frameworks it has developed– at the request of European authorities and in close dialogue with payment service users – are key elements necessary to create the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).

The EPC Annual Activity Report 2010 also highlights the progress achieved in a number of areas covered by the EPC work programme. The latter include the SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT), the SEPA Core Direct Debit (SDD Core) and the SEPA Business to Business Direct Debit (SDD B2B) scheme rulebooks, the establishment of the Certification Authority Supervisory Board (CASB), the EPC approved version 5.0 of the SEPA Cards Standardisation Volume – Book of Requirements, as well as the publication of a mobile contactless payments-centred paper together with the GSMA.

In the annual report, the EPC has expressed its appreciation regarding the continuous dialogue taking place in the EPC Customer Stakeholders Forum (CSF) established in 2007. The CSF specifically addresses the requirements of payment service users with regard to the SCT and SDD schemes and related standards.

EPC Chair Gerard Hartsink comments: The development of payment schemes through self-regulation by banks in close dialogue with customers represents the established approach in all national banking communities – and in SEPA. This model ensures an optimally efficient, systemically stable and competitive payments market.

The European Commission now seeks broad executive powers to determine payment functionalities as outlined in the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation establishing technical requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euros published in December 2010. It is the EPC’s firm belief, however, that innovation must not be hampered by the European Commission’s intended interference. It is simply not warranted or efficient that standards should be defined and evolved by law on an on-going basis. It is not appropriate for the European Commission to take on the role of a de-facto scheme manager and standard setter in the area of payments.

Have an in-depth look at the EPC Annual Activity Report 2010 titled “Driving forward the SEPA vision” by downloading a free copy from our website.