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SEPA – the Single Euro Payments Area – crystallises the vision of a single euro retail payments area. In SEPA, the cross-border payments of citizens and business enterprises are to be effected on the same terms and as efficiently as national payments. SEPA currently comprises 32 countries: the 27 EU member states, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Monaco. The SEPA related work of the European banks is coordinated by the European Payments Council, EPC. The Danish EPC members are the Danish Bankers Association, representing Danish banks, and Danske Bank.
An important cornerstone for SEPA is the Payment Services Directive, which was adopted in 2007. The Directive harmonises the EU member states' legislation on retail payments. In Denmark, the Directive has been transposed into the Danish Payment Services, adopted by the Danish Parliament in the spring of 2009.
So far the European banks have launched two SEPA products, which can be used by the bank customers in Europe to both national and cross-border payments and credit transfers. The first product SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) can be used for credit transfers and was launched on 28 January 2008. The other product is SEPA Direct Debit (SDD), which was launched on 2 November 2009. SEPA Direct Debit is comparable to Betalingsservice in Denmark.
The EPC has, in addition to SCD and SCD, developed a set of principles for SEPA card payments. The principles are referred to as the SEPA Cards Framework (SCF) and issuers, acquirers, card schemes and operators will have to adapt to them. |
