Cards

Debit cards

From 28th Jan 2008, banks throughout the Eurozone should have available a SEPA Card Framework (SCF) compatible debit card.

The various documents outlining the SEPA Card Framework (SCF) are written in the complex language of diplomacy and represent various compromises between the various nationalities and interest groups. Each country will implement SCF in accordance with principles laid down in the SCF policy framework.

  • The model does not impose a single scheme or a single infrastructure.
  • There may continue to be national arrangements and infrastructures, but each must adapt to improve accessibility and competition
  • All cards should be Chip & PIN enabled using the EMV chip (Certain countries continue to oppose this)
  • All cards should be interoperable in such a way that any merchant can accept any or all SEPA cards, but no merchant should be forced to accept any particular card or set of cards
  • Card schemes should be separated from processing to ensure better competition at both scheme and infrastructure levels
  • In practice, these principles will mean that no national debit card schemes should operate in the long term; multinational debit card schemes operated by existing international card schemes (Visa, MasterCard) and/or schemes created from alliances between existing national debit card scheme operators will replace them. Accordingly, the Laser brand is likely to disappear in the long term. In that event, banks in Ireland may choose (individually or collectively) to participate in a chosen SCF-compatible scheme

Credit cards

SEPA cards should offer a consistent experience throughout the SEPA territory. Irish credit card users will notice little difference if any, since by then, Chip & PIN should be operational in all merchants in Ireland - the same is not true of some other SEPA countries.

ATM cards

The SEPA Card Framework will apply to ATM cards also.

In Ireland there is not a national ATM brand, but there are cards which can be used in the national ATM network, and cannot be used outside Ireland. Such cards must be replaced in the longer term by cards which have SEPA-wide acceptance.

Equally, if there are in Ireland any ATMs which accept Irish cards only, then these must be opened to all SEPA cards