Blog

  • SEPA misunderstandings clarified (or not?) - 05 May 2009

    In a document issued April 6th, the European Payments Council (EPC) attempts to clear up certain “misunderstandings” regarding SEPA. The candidness of the language in this document is unusual. It accepts that SEPA is not a popular initiative, and asks readers not to blame the banking industry for this. It distances the banking industry from the “invention” of SEPA.It seems that the EPC has more »

  • Expectations of the European Central Bank - 01 April 2009

    Few people could doubt the fact that ECB supports SEPA. Nevertheless, ECB felt obliged to issue a new document on it’s expectations for SEPA. On the face of it, there is little new in this document. It would appear, however, that the diplomatic language used, however, barely conceals the frustration of ECB concerning the slow pace of movement.A summary of the full report can be read here more »

  • ECOFIN Ministers report on SEPA - 01 April 2009

    SEPA was on the February agenda for ECOFIN, the EU council of finance ministers. In their annual review of SEPA, they stated that “SEPA remains a necessary and economically viable project. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to maintain migration momentum and ensure that the full benefits of the project are attained.”The report, however, does not make good reading when viewed from an Irish more »

  • New SEPA publications - 03 March 2009

    The first months of 2009 has seen some new publications and documents on SEPA:-“Making SEPA a reality – The definitive guide to the Single Euro Payments Area” is a 53-page guide for the common man to all aspects of SEPA. It is produced by the European Payments Council. It uses a series of pie charts to dramatically illustrate the differences between fundamental systems across Europe, as a way of more »

  • SEPA – 1 year in operation. - 30 January 2009

    SEPA became a reality just 1 year ago, on 28th January 2008. On that date, the first real deliverable, the SEPA Credit Transfer was launched. It is now time to look back on a year of operation, and to look forward to the second year and further onwards.On the positive side, EBA Clearing, the operators of the STEP2 clearing system for SEPA Credit Transfers report that there are now connected to more »

  • Interview with Mick O'Neil from IPSO - 08 December 2008

    Tom Conlon for sepa.ie talks to Mick O Neill, IPSO, SEPA Co-ordinator for the Irish banksIrish Payment Services Organisation Ltd. (IPSO) is owned by the Irish banking industry, and is “the representative industry body, the voice and guardian of the payments industry and the strategic interface with all payments stakeholders”. IPSO provides central programme management for SEPA within Ireland, more »

  • Live date for SEPA confirmed as Jan 2008 – but there are critics and sceptics - 08 October 2007

    SEPA will go live in January 2008, but not on Jan 1. Instead, it will be on Monday January 28th 2008. The European Payments Council explains as follows:- “This date has been chosen simply to decouple the customer go-live date from the end-of-year routines common in both banking and industry, the traditional freeze on changes to banking processes imposed over the Christmas/New Year period and more »

  • ECB is critical of SEPA progress - 24 July 2007

    In its 5th SEPA progress report, (PDF download) the European System of Central Banks (The Eurosystem), appears disappointed with progress on SEPA. Entitled “Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) From Concept to Reality”, the report is written in the diplomatic language favoured by the ECB. Decoded, it laments a range of gaps which will likely inhibit or delay success.Three particular areas need more »

  • The changing landscape of cards is unfolding - 02 July 2007

    Until now, for debit cards to work outside their country of issue, they currently must carry the Maestro logo of the Mastercard organisation or the v-Pay logo of Visa. The Mastercard/Visa dominance appears now to be under threat. The Euro Alliance of Payment Schemes (EAPS) has agreed to link the debit card schemes of a number of countries from September next. Germany, Britain, Italy, Spain, more »

  • SEPA An Irish Perspective - 12 June 2007

    Banking in Ireland owes a lot to its colonial history. The core systems, payment instruments, standards, and legislation are almost identical to Britain – but in certain aspects they are a couple of years behind in terms of development and/or market penetration. Politically, the Irish are committed Europeans, and participation in European monetary initiatives, including adoption of the euro has more »

  • SEPA, the Titanic clash of the mighty and powerful - 06 June 2007

    It’s the clash of the Titans, 21st century style – the mighty EU Commission takes on the muscle of the banking industry. The prize, if one believes the EU Commission is an €50billion-€100billion annual boost to the economy, and the creation of real and genuine competition among banks.Round 1 of this saga went to the EU Commission when, after prolonged negotiations, they struck a decisive blow by more »