Banks must commit to Sepa
A report for the European Commission by Capgemini states that a rapid uptake by banks of the Single European Payments Area (Sepa) will be essential to boost its chances of success.
7 February 2008
Publication
Sepa, launched yesterday could either save the financial services sector €123 billion (£91 billion) or cost it an extra €43 billion (£32 billion) by 2012 - depending on well it is adopted.
Under Sepa, all international payments in Europe will be treated as domestic transactions by 2012, improving the efficiency of the region’s financial institutions.
However deadlines have been and gone. The original due date was a month ago and the timetable for implementing cross-border direct-debit payments have been put back by as much as two years.
The Capgemini report comments that “there is a lack of consumer pressure for banks to comply with Sepa deadlines. Many banks and retailers are worried about the relatively high investment they need to make, while many potential users are simply not yet aware of the potential benefits Sepa could bring to them.”
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