The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is a project to harmonise the way we
make and process retail payments in euro. The goal is to make payments in euro
and across Europe as fast, safe and efficient as national payments are today.
SEPA enables customers to make cashless euro payments to anyone located anywhere
in Europe, for example by credit transfer, direct debit or debit card. About
SEPA, presentation "SEPA
in a nutshell"
SEPA countries
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) initiative aims to overcome technical,
legal and market barriers between countries in order to create a single market
for retail payments in euro. The SEPA territory consists of 32 European countries
and also includes countries which are not part of the euro area and the European
Union. SEPA
countries
Stakeholders and legal framework
The SEPA project was launched by the European banking and payments industry
and is supported by EU governments, the European Commission, the Eurosystem,
and other public authorities (Stakeholders).
Agreed standards, technical requirements, and a common legal basis are the
foundation for payments within the SEPA area, irrespective of the countries
involved in the transaction. Features
Counting down to: 1 Feb. 2014
SEPA Migration Countdown
Migrating to SEPA
Two new SEPA instruments were introduced in 2008 (SEPA credit transfer) and
2009 (SEPA direct debit). EU Regulation No 260/2012 establishes the technical
and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro. The
regulation is also referred to as the “SEPA end-date regulation” and defines
the deadlines for the migration to the new SEPA instruments. The deadline for
the euro area is 1 February 2014 and for non-euro area Member States 31 October
2016. As of these dates, the existing national euro credit transfer and direct
debit schemes will be replaced. SEPA
migration key facts, Quantitative migration indicators, Qualitative indicators per country on preparedness
What is SEPA? A video introduction (available in 22 languages)
23/03/2012 - Eurosystem
reaction to the European Commission's Green Paper "Towards an integrated European
market for card, internet and mobile payments". More on
the Commission's initiative on cards, internet and mobile payments.
04/11/2011 - Conference proceedings
and final working papers of the ECB/OeNB conference on the future of
retail payments in May 2011: more
07/10/2011 -
Occasional Paper [1.17 MB] on multilateral interchange fees in payment card markets and related
issues
31/08/2011 - Speech: Peter Praet: A
new voice on a familiar topic – SEPA from the perspective of ECB Executive
Board member Peter Praet. Presented at the off-site meeting of the
European Payments Council speech
06/06/2011 - European Business Test
Panel: SEPA Corporate Survey Report
2011
23/05/2011 - Speech: Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell:
SEPA in der Praxis – Sicht der Europäischen Zentralbank speech (German)
All
13/05/2011 - Speech: Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell:
Closing remarks for the conference “The future of retail payments:
opportunities and challenges speech
13/05/2011 - ECB and OeNB call for
a faster implementation of the Single Euro Payments Area press
release
12/05/2011 - Speech: Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell:
Transformation of the banking business and its impact on retail
payments: governance, efficiency and integration speech
08/04/2011 - ECB's opinion on the
proposal for a Regulation establishing
EU-wide requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in
euro,
download
25/11/2010 - Speech: Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell:
SEPA: a busy year is coming to its end and another exciting year
lies ahead, speech
15/11/2010 - Speech: Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell:
Priorities for Integration, speech
22/10/2010 - 7th SEPA Progress Report:
Migration continues but requires realistic but ambitious regulatory
end dates,
download [1.08 MB] , press release: de . el . en . es . fi . fr . it . nl . pt . sk . sl . sv
18/10/2010 - Speech: Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell:
The Single Euro Payments Area - where do we stand?, speech
06/09/2010 - Book on the payment
system and the role of the Eurosystem in this field,
download , press
release
06/07/2010 - Eurosystem's comment
on the European Commission's "Working paper on SEPA migration end
date",
download
07/06/2010 - SEPA Council meets
for the first time, discusses migration end dates and future of
SEPA for cards more
05/05/2010 - Speech: Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell:
SEPA for cards: more than a symbol of SEPA’s success more
28/04/2010 - Speech: Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell:
Time ripens all things, and now the time is ripe to reap the benefits
from E-invoicing more
30/12/2009 - Working paper: Return
to retail banking and payments (Working Paper No. 1135), by Iftekhar
Hasan, Heiko Schmiedel and Liang Song,
en
30/12/2009 - Conference: Retail
payments - integration and innovation (A joint conference by the
ECB and de Nederlandsche bank 25 - 26 May 2009)
1.05 MB en [online only]
23/11/2009 - Speech: The Progress
of Migration to SEPA, Keynote address by Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell,
Member of the Executive Board of the ECB at the British Bankers’
Association, 7th Annual Payments Conference, London, 23 November
2009 more
13/10/2009 - Speech: Payments are
becoming European, Speech by Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, Member of
the Executive Board of the ECB, at the EPC SEPA Direct Debit launch
event, Brussels, 13 October 2009 more
09/09/2009 - Speech: A single market
for cards: the missing piece in the SEPA puzzle, by Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell,
Member of the Executive Board of the ECB more
02/09/2009 - Speech - The tiger,
the ox and the rat, and the future of retail payments in Europe,
by Daniela Russo at the EPC Coordination Committee offsite meeting
in Château-de-Limelette
en
06/07/2009 - Speech: Implementing
SEPA: our expedition to a fully integrated euro retail payment
market, by Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, Member of the Executive Board
of the ECB more
25/05/2009 - Speech: Integration
and innovation - The Alpha and Omega of a successful retail payments
market in Europe, by Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European
Central Bank more
06/05/2009 - Speech: From fragmentation
to integration: could the payment systems experience in Europe
be useful for Asia? By Jean-Michel Godeffroy at Payment China 2009
in Beijing
en
27/03/2009 - The expectations of
the Eurosystem as regards the future of SEPA
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24/03/2009 - Joint statement by the
European Commission and the European Central Bank clarifying certain
principles underlying a future SEPA direct debit (SDD) business
model
en . See also the Press
release
24/03/2009 - Press release: Commission
and ECB provide further clarification to ensure timely launch of
SEPA direct debit scheme more
23/03/2009 - Terms of reference:
SEPA-compliance of card schemes more
16/03/2009 - The Quest for the Holy
Grail? – European Financial Integration: Achievements and Hurdles more
24/11/2008 - Press release: SEPA:
Significant progress made but concerns need to be addressed without
delay (Sixth SEPA progress report), de . el . en . es . fi . fr . it . nl . pt . sk . sl . sv,
Sixth SEPA progress report, 652 kb, en
20/11/2008 - Speech: Enhancing infrastructures
for the EU financial market more
20/11/2008 - Speech: Do you SEPA?
The ECB's point of view more
20/11/2008 - Speech: The role of
retail finance for financial markets efficiency and stability more
4/09/2008 - Press release: Commission
and ECB support launch of pan-European SEPA Direct Debit; provide
guidance to industry more
3/09/2008 - Speech at the EPC Coordination
Committee offsite meeting in Château-de-Limelette more
2/07/2008 - Speech: The future of
cards and payments: SEPA for cards more
16/06/2008 - Speech at the International
Bankers’ Club more
25/04/2008 - Terms of reference:
SEPA-compliance of infrastructures more
17/04/2008 - Speech: Corporates in
the Single Euro Payments Area: Business as usual? more
12/02/2008 - Speech: SEPA for cards
- a great opportunity for Europe? by Jean-Michel Godeffroy at ZKA
(Central Credit Committee) information session, 20 kb, en
28/01/2008 - Joint statement by the
European Commission and the European Central Bank welcoming the
formal launch of SEPA payment instruments by EU banks, bg . cs . da . de . el . en . es . et . fi . fr . hu . it . lt . lv . mt . nl . pl . pt . ro . sk . sl . sv
22/01/2008 - Speech: The Single Euro
Payments Area in a global context more
21/1/2008 - Press release: SEPA goes
live - official launch of the single euro payments area more
19/11/2007 - Speech: Going the extra
mile to be ready for SEPA more
2/11/2007 - Speech: SEPA – New card
schemes for Europe by Jean-Michel Godeffroy Télécom-Paris, 30 kb, en
8/10/2007 - Speech: SEPA – three
months to go and full steam ahead? more
4/10/2007 - Speech: SEPA – Five minutes
to summarise the SEPA by Jean-Michel Godeffroy at Sibos, Boston, 20 kb, en
3/09/2007 - Speech: SEPA – from steam
train to TGV? more
22/08/2007 - Publication: The economic
impact of the Single Euro Payments Area, by Heiko Schmiedel, ECB
Occasional paper No. 71, 1259 kb, en
20/07/2007 - Press release / publication:
“SEPA: from concept to reality” - 5th progress report more
14/05/2007 - Speech: The new SEPA
landscape from vision to reality (and back) more
8/05/2007 - Speech: Making SEPA a
reality – Involving the public sector in the Single Euro Payments
Area more
7/05/2007 - Speech: Financial integration,
modernisation and competitiveness in Europe: achievements and challenges more
3/05/2007 - Press release / publication:
Consultation announcement: oversight framework for card payment
schemes more
3/05/2007 - Speech: Modernising payments:
'no pain – no gain' more
24/04/2007 - Press release: Joint
statement by the ECB and the Commission welcoming the adoption
of the Payment Services Directive more
23/03/2007 - Press release: Regulatory
framework and payment systems issues more
12/03/2007 - Speech: The competitiveness
of European financial markets. An economic framework for effective
policy-making more
13/02/2007 - Speech: The European
Central Bank’s view on SEPA more
20/11/2006 - Press release: The Eurosystem’s
View of a “SEPA for Cards” more,
publication: 91 kb, de . el . en . es . fi . fr . it . nl . pt . sl . sv
13/11/2006 - Speech: Concluding remarks
'SEPA – Opportunities by Change' more
13/11/2006 - Speech: Creating an
integrated market for the euro area more
13/11/2006 - Information brochure:
SEPA - An integrated retail payments market, 1761 kb, bg . cs . da . de . el . en . es . et . fi . fr . hu . it . lt . lv . mt . nl . pl . pt . ro . sk . sl . sv
23/10/2006 - Speech: Building the
Future – Integrating Europe’s Financial Sector more
16/10/2006 - Information brochure:
SEPA, The Single Euro Payments Area - an introduction, 258 kb, en
20/09/2006 - Speech: A SEPA for cards:
a contribution to a cashless society? more
7/09/2006 - Speech: From theory to
practice: let’s roll out the cables more
17/07/2006 - Speech: Preliminary
Findings of the Retail Banking Sector Inquiry more
6/07/2006 - Speech: European Financial
Integration and the Financial System more
29/06/2006 - Speech: Round table
conference on m-Payments more
15/06/2006 - Speech: ABI-SWIFT 'SPIN
2006' Conference on 'The drivers of change: regulation versus competition' more
9/06/2006 - Speech: Drivers for change
in payment and securities settlement systems more
7/06/2006 - Speech: What is the outlook
for the Single European Payments Area (SEPA)? more
4/05/2006 - Press release: Single
Euro Payments Area more
23/02/2006 - Speech: The Lisbon Agenda
– what can banks contribute? more
17/02/2006 - Press release / publication:
Towards a single euro payments area - 4th progress report more
15/11/2005 - Speech: SEPA: making
the dream become a reality more
21/10/2005 - Speech: Regulation,
Competition and Integration in EU banking: What Drives Performance? more
14/10/2005 - Speech: Single market
for financial services – vision or reality? more
3/10/2005 - Speech: Keeping up the
momentum: achieving the SEPA objectives on time more
6/05/2005 - Speech: Interchange in
a changing market: Observations from the euro area perspective more
18/10/2004 - Speech: Integration
des Europäischen Finanzmarktes und Schaffung eines einheitlichen
Zahlungsverkehrsraumes more
21/09/2004 - Speech: Card payments
and the European financial integration more
25/04/2005 - Speech: The need for
regulatory involvement in the evolution of payment systems more
2/12/2004 - Press release / publication:
Towards a single euro payments area - 3rd progress report more
6/09/2004 - Speech: Time to act:
clear objectives and a convincing roadmap for the Single Euro Payments
Area more
26/06/2003 - Press release / publication:
Towards a Single Euro Payments Area - progress report more
30/11/2001 - Press release / publication:
Towards an integrated infrastructure for credit transfers in euro more
