EPC Annual Report 2009: "Much has been accomplished on the road to SEPA"

According to the report, in 2009 further progress has been achieved in all areas covered by the EPC programme. The EPC launched the SEPA Core Direct Debit Scheme and the SEPA Business to Business Direct Debit Scheme in November 2009. Banks throughout SEPA have gradually started to deliver SEPA Direct Debit services to their customers. According to the EU Regulation on cross-border payments in the Community, all branches of banks in the euro area must be reachable for SEPA Core Direct Debit by 1 November 2010.

At the end of 2009, nearly 4,500 banks accounting for 95 percent of SEPA payment volumes offered SEPA Credit Transfer services. The SEPA Credit Transfer Scheme was introduced in January 2008. “The EPC continuously enhances the SEPA Schemes in close dialogue with the user community to meet evolving customer needs based on a robust and predictable change management process”, according to the report.

Significant progress has also been made in the design of the SEPA e-Payments Framework facilitating online payments with a payment-guarantee for online retailers followed by a SEPA Credit Transfer. Furthermore, the EPC Roadmap for Mobile Payments approved in March 2009 defines the key deliverables in the areas of SEPA card proximity payments and SEPA card mobile remote payments. The aim is to develop mobile channels for the initiation and receipt of SEPA payments enabling customers to make payments on the go across the SEPA countries.

In 2009, the EPC established the Cards Stakeholders Group (CSG), in collaboration with representatives of the main sectors active in the cards industry, including retailers, vendors (manufacturers of cards, payment devices and related IT systems), processors and card schemes. CSG was designed to remove any technical obstacles preventing a consistent customer experience throughout the SEPA cards market.