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| The Single Euro Payments Area
has recently dominated discussions in the payments
business, but how will it benefit your business? |
| The Single Euro(pean)
Payments Area (SEPA) represents on of the largest
banking change projects seen thus far within Europe.
Similar programmes such as EMV provide an idea of
the extent of the changes required, however only
introduction of the Euro has required a similar
scale of investment. |
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SEPA’s vision is that within the next four
years citizen and corporate Europe will be able
to make payments anywhere in Europe as easily as
they make payments at home. All payments will be
impacted and as a result, credit transfers, direct
debits, card and cash payments will migrate to common
inter-operable processes and standards. |
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Whilst there has been significant focus on the costs
of SEPA, PSE has sought to emphasise the benefits
for parties involved in the payments value chain
in addition to those for consumers. For example:
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Merchants will be able to accept all of Europe’s
national debit cards, terminal costs should fall,
acceptance and back office processes will be simplified. |
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For small and medium
sized businesses (SME’s) faster settlement
and simplified processing will improve cashflow
and reduce costs, as well as enabling receiving
or making payments anywhere in Europe. |
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For large merchants and
corporates, common standards should enable the construction
of one standard platform for all their European
payment operations; major savings will result from
improved and simplified exception item processing,
automated standing data set up and improved remittance
data. |
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Banks will have new opportunities
to develop new products, enter new markets and win
new relationships. More importantly, all these benefits
will be enabled by a single bank account processing
platform that can serve customers in all of Europe’s
nations. |
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Europe’s card and
ACH schemes are likely to experience radical change
as a result of SEPA with new rule books, the separation
of scheme from infrastructure entities and the gradual
phasing out of national process and practices. |
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Finally for the payments
sector suppliers, there will be significant opportunities
to develop low cost new software products and services
which will serve one market rather than many. |
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PSE has been closely invloved in the SEPA debate
through-out its evolution. We have helped a wide
range of global clients understand the impact of
SEPA on their business and they types of opportunities
that it may create. |
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PSE has been involved in looking at the impacts
and opportunities of SEPA on all the parties mentioned
above; specifically we have supported our clients
in questions such as: |
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Will SEPA generate new
players and business models within the European
processing market? |
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Will the break-up of interbank processors create
opportunities for M&A? |
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How much to my customers know about SEPA and where
are they going to be investing? |
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How will the SEPA rules
impact my business? |
