Communication from the Commission - Completing SEPA : a Roadmap for 2009 2012
Date: 2009-09-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Monetary System, European currency, bank, euro, euro area, financial institution, intra-EU payment, single payment scheme

EN 

EN 

   EN 

 
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 10.9.2009 
COM(2009) 471 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

Completing SEPA: a Roadmap for 2009-2012 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
  
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION Completing SEPA: a Roadmap for 
2009-2012................................................................................................................................... 1 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION Completing SEPA: a Roadmap for 
2009-2012................................................................................................................................... 3 

1. 

2. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Priorities for the sepa roadmap .................................................................................... 4 

2.1. 

Priority 1: Foster migration.......................................................................................... 4 

a) An active role for public authorities ........................................................................ 4 

b) Efficient migration monitoring ................................................................................ 5 

c) Need to agree on a migration end-date .................................................................... 5 

2.2. 

Priority 2: Raise SEPA awareness and promote SEPA products................................. 6 

a) Raise SEPA awareness............................................................................................. 6 

b) Promote SEPA products .......................................................................................... 7 

2.3. 

Priority 3: Design a sound legal environment for SEPA and strengthen SEPA 
compliance ................................................................................................................... 7 

a) Complete the legal framework for SEPA ................................................................ 7 

b) Competition issues................................................................................................... 8 

c) Compliance issues.................................................................................................... 8 

2.4. 

Priority 4: Promote innovation..................................................................................... 9 

2.5. 

2.6. 

a) m-payments and e-payments.................................................................................... 9 

b) e-invoicing ............................................................................................................... 9 

Priority 5: Ensure necessary standardisation, interoperability, and security ............. 10 

Priority 6: Clarify and improve the governance of SEPA.......................................... 11 

a) Current SEPA governance ..................................................................................... 11 

b) The challenges for SEPA governance at EU level ................................................ 12 

3. 

Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 13 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

Completing SEPA: a Roadmap for 2009-2012 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION  

To make the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) a success, strong commitment by all actors 
concerned is required. The EPC, the decision-making and coordination body of the European 
banking industry in relation to payments, has successfully delivered the necessary schemes for 
SEPA  Credit  Transfers  (SCT)  and  SEPA  Direct  Debits  (SDD)  and  is  working  on  card 
standards, but SEPA migration is still slow. In May 2009 – almost one and a half years after 
the SCT launch – only 3,9 % of credit transfers used SEPA standards1. In the current difficult 
economic climate, business may  hesitate to invest even though retail banking and payments 
business  remains  a  stable  source  of  regularly  growing  revenue.  Integrated  payment  markets 
will play a key role in the future of these banks because of their pervasive role in our modern 
societies. 

Waning enthusiasm by banks may be exacerbated by uncertainty surrounding key aspects of 
the  project.  While  SEPA  is  primarily  market-driven,  some  uncertainty  can  only  be  resolved 
with the aid of public authorities. Action is needed now by all stakeholders. 
The ECOFIN Council conclusions of 10 February 20092 "recognised that the current financial 
crisis  and  economic  slow-down  provides  opportunities  for  major  efficiency  gains  and  cost 
savings, thus requiring reinforced commitment to the project from all parties and invited the 
Commission  and  the  ECB  and  the  Eurosystem  to  continue  their  role  in  identifying  the 
necessary actions for its successful realisation".  

This  SEPA  roadmap  provides  a  framework  for  action  to  achieve  full  implementation  and 
responds  to  the  Commission  Communication  for  the  Spring  European  Council  of 
4 March 2009 where the Commission announced it would "come forward by mid-2009 with 
proposals to ensure that the full benefits of a Single Euro Payments Area are realised."3 
The  Commission  and  the  European  Central  Bank  share  the  same  vision  for  SEPA4  and  this 
Roadmap  reflects  close  cooperation  between  the  ECB  and  the  Commission  regarding  its 
further development. The Eurosystem in its 6th SEPA Progress Report has also identified the 
concrete  tasks  to  ensure  SEPA  implementation  and  migration.  The  two  documents  are 
complementary. 

This  Roadmap  focuses  primarily  on  Member  States  which  have  adopted  the  euro. 
Nevertheless,  most  non-euro  Member  States  are  striving  for  euro  membership  and  the  euro 
already plays an important role in their commercial and trading relationships. It is therefore 
important that non-euro Member States feel appropriately concerned by this Roadmap, even if 
SEPA migration occurs at a less rapid pace.  

1 
2 
3 

4 

EN 

http://www.ecb.int/paym/sepa/timeline/use/html/index.en.html 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ecofin/105993.pdf 
Communication 
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/pdf/press_20090304_annx_en.pdf. 
http://www.ecb.int/paym/sepa/html/vision.en.html 

for 

the  spring  European  Council  Driving  European  recovery,  Annex I; 

3 

   EN 

                                                 
2. 

PRIORITIES FOR THE SEPA ROADMAP 

This  Roadmap  identifies  the  actions  to  be  completed  by  all  stakeholders  (EU  and  national 
authorities, industry and users) over the next three years, following six priorities: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

Foster migration; 

Increase awareness and promote SEPA products;  

Design a sound legal environment and ensure compliance; 

Promote innovation  

Achieve standardisation and interoperability; and  

Clarify and improve SEPA project governance.  

2.1. 

Priority 1: Foster migration  

Migration  starts  when  the  first  SEPA  products  appear  on  the  market  and  ends  when  SEPA 
products have replaced the corresponding national payment products and standards.  

During  migration  industry  will  run  legacy  and  SEPA  systems  in  parallel.  This  is  costly  for 
banks  and  customers.  Therefore,  migration  should  last  no  longer  than  necessary.  The 
substantial  benefits  of  SEPA  will  only  materialise  with  rapid  migration  and  the  active 
commitment of both the demand and supply sides5. 

While  banks  must  of  course  offer  high  quality  SEPA  products,  for  rapid  migration  the 
following additional conditions must be met: 

a) An active role for public authorities 

With  nearly  50 %  of  EU  GDP  and  around  20 %  of  all  cashless  payments  made,  the  public 
sector should play a leading role in SEPA migration. Together with other major players such 
as  utilities,  telecoms  and  insurers,  public  authorities  can  create  the  critical  mass  needed  to 
speed-up migration.  

Through swift migration, public administrations can benefit from a streamlined procedure for 
euro payments, greater competition, a wider choice of payment service providers with prices 
reflecting  improved  economies  of  scale  for  payment  processing.  SEPA  should  also  be 
integrated into the on-going e-government projects. However, this is conditional on industry 
by providing high quality and competitive SEPA products. 

Public  authorities  should  draw  up  integrated  and  synchronised  national  migration  plans, 
demonstrating their willingness to swiftly reach critical mass and drive forward the migration 
process. Their political commitment to SEPA should be mirrored at European level.  

Actions 

Actors 

Deadline 

Design national migration plans for 
public administrations6 

Migration of national public 
administrations to SEPA standards, 
products and services 

Member States 

October 2009 

Member States 

End-2010 

5 
6 

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/docs/sepa/sepa-capgemini_study-final_report_en.pdf 
http://www.ecb.eu/paym/sepa/timeline/use/html/index.en.html#migration 

EN 

4 

   EN 

                                                 
Migration of European institutions to 
SEPA standards, products and services.  

Commission/other 
European Institutions 

June 20107 

b) Efficient migration monitoring 

To anticipate and remedy possible migration problems a regular and clear assessment of the 
situation  is  needed.  The  ECOFIN  Council  invited  in  its  conclusions  of  22 January 2008  the 
Commission in cooperation with the ECB to provide an annual progress report on the state of 
SEPA  migration,  including  where  relevant  the  pricing  of  SEPA  instruments  and  the 
enhancement  of  competition  within  the  SEPA  area  as  well  as  other  SEPA  related 
developments  at  the  end  of  each  year  until  the  successful  migration  of  a  critical  mass  of 
different payment instruments has been achieved and at the end 2008, 2009 and 2010 in any 
event.'8  

In  order  to  monitor  the  impact  of  SEPA  on  consumers,  a  SEPA  benchmarking  study  was 
initiated in 2007 which will allow comparison with the results of future studies, once SEPA 
products  are  fully  available.  If  SEPA  leads  to  negative  price  developments  which  are  not 
linked  to  other  factors,  such  as  the  switch  from  high,  hidden  pricing  to  lower,  transparent 
pricing  as  a  result  of  PSD  implementation,  the  Commission  is  ready  to  take  appropriate 
remedial actions.  

Migration  by  public  administrations  will  also  be  closely  monitored  through  a  Commission 
scoreboard9  assessing  on  the  basis  of  clear  indicators,  progress  achieved  by  national  public 
administrations with SEPA migration. 

Action 

Actors 

Deadline 

Annual progress report to ECOFIN 
Council on state of migration  

Commission in 
cooperation with ECB 

Forthcoming: 2009 

Eurosystem SEPA Progress Reports 

Eurosystem 

At regular intervals (last report 
November 2008) 

Publication of SEPA indicators 

ECB 

Throughout the migration phase 

Publication of a biannual scoreboard on 
public administrations migration 

Commission 

From 2009 during the migration 
phase 

2nd SEPA benchmarking study 

Commission 

Mid-2011 

c) Need to agree on a migration end-date 

As for the euro changeover, fixing an end-date for SCT and SDD migration provides certainty 
and  predictability  and  acts  as  a  strong  incentive  for  both  industry  and  users  to  speed-up 
migration.  At  this  stage  introducing  an  end-date  for  card  payments  is  premature  as  many 
standards still need to be finalised. 

Migration should be as short as possible to minimise the costs of running national and SEPA 
systems  in  parallel,  but  as  long  as  necessary  to  allow  customers  and  banks  to  change  their 
processes  smoothly.  This  requires  a  sound  analysis  of  the  impact  of  setting,  as  well  as  the 

7 
8 
9 

The ECB has already fully migrated to SEPA by January 2008. 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ecofin/98276.pdf 
ECOFIN Council Conclusions of 10 February 2009; 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ecofin/105993.pdf 

EN 

5 

   EN 

                                                 
negative  effects  of  not  setting,  an  end-date.  Various  options  should  be  examined  and  the 
impact on non-euro countries should also be assessed.  
Therefore,  a  comprehensive  consultative  process  has  been  launched10.  This  could  lead  to 
political  endorsement  of  the  arrangements  and  timing  of  setting  an  end-date  and  will  also 
allow the  Commission to assess whether a binding migration end-date for SCT  and  SDD is 
needed.  The  European  Parliament  has  already  called11  on  the  Commission  to  set  a  "clear, 
appropriate and binding end-date, which date should not be later than 31 December 2012, for 
migrating to SEPA products…".  

Actions 

Actors 

Deadline 

Consultation of stakeholders based on 
consultation paper 

Commission 

3 August 2009 

Political endorsement 

ECOFIN Council 

December 2009 

Completion of impact assessment work 

Commission 

February 2010 

2.2. 

Priority 2: Raise SEPA awareness and promote SEPA products  

For  SEPA  to  be  a  success,  all  parties  involved  in  the  'SEPA  changeover'  need  to  be  fully 
informed about its merits and advantages. It is therefore essential to: 

a) Raise SEPA awareness  

Extensive communication efforts tailored to the target audience are urgently needed. Clearly, 
most  effort  should  come  from  payment  service  providers  when  marketing  the  new  SEPA 
products.  Nevertheless,  public  authorities  also  have  a  duty  to  ensure  that  appropriate 
information  campaigns  are  launched.  At  national  level,  Member  States  should  support 
communication  efforts  by  industry  using  national  SEPA  coordination  committees  and  user 
representatives. At European level, a concerted strategy for communication action is needed 
in close co-operation with the EPC.  

To  facilitate  exchanges  of  information  and  good  practices  between  national  SEPA 
communities and address practical migration problems in a collective way, the Commission 
has established an EU Forum of SEPA Coordination Committees12.  

Actions 

Actors 

Deadline 

Support industry’s efforts to create 
SEPA awareness  

Member States 

End-2009  

Complement industry and national SEPA 
communication with initiatives at EU 
level 

Commission, ECB, EPC 

End-2009 

Regular meetings of EU forum for SEPA 
national coordination committees 

Commission 

From October 2008 during the 
migration phase 

10 
11 

12 

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2009/sepa_en.htm 
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+MOTION+B6-2009-
0111+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN. 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/sepa/ec_en.htm 

EN 

6 

   EN 

                                                 
b) Promote SEPA products 

Users are generally unaware of SEPA and need tailor-made information on the advantages of 
SEPA  products.  Payment  service  providers  need  to  step  up  their  communication  efforts 
significantly, which is a first step in convincing customers to migrate. This presupposes that 
payment  service  providers  are  prepared  to  make  concrete  offerings  of  SEPA  products, 
delivering concrete and tangible benefits, to customers. 

Actions 

Actors 

Deadline 

Active marketing of SEPA products 
appropriate to the different user groups: 
concrete SEPA product offerings to 
customers 

Payment service providers 

Immediate effect for SCT and 
1 November 2009 for SDD 

2.3. 

Priority  3:  Design  a  sound  legal  environment  for  SEPA  and  strengthen  SEPA 
compliance  

The removal of legal barriers was a pre-condition for the kick-off of the SEPA project. The 
adoption of the Payment Services Directive (PSD)13 provides the legal foundation for SEPA, 
in  particular  for  SDD.  The  new  Regulation  on  cross-border  payments  in  the  Community14, 
which  replaces  Regulation  (EC)  No  2560/2001  on  1 November 2009,  ensures  consistency 
with the SEPA objectives and extends equal treatment to direct debits.  

The  enforcement  of  competition  rules  is  another  important  condition  to  enable  SEPA  to 
produce its expected pro-competitive effects. Since the design and implementation of SEPA is 
the  result  of  agreements  and  co-operation  between  potential  competitors  through  the  EPC, 
close  competition  scrutiny  is  necessary.  To  the  extent  that  co-operation  potentially  restricts 
competition,  there  is  a  very  strong  case  to  be  made  for  the  benefits  of  such  cooperation  for 
users (including consumers). 

Compliance  deserves  special  attention,  especially  in  a  self-regulatory  context.  Appropriate 
mechanisms  should  ensure  that  industry  and  users  adhere  to  the  relevant  rulebooks  and 
compliance criteria.  

a) Complete the legal framework for SEPA  

The  Commission  is  working  closely  with  national  authorities  and  other  stakeholders  to 
achieve  complete,  consistent  and  faithful  PSD  implementation  which  forms  the  legal 
underpinning of SEPA. A few months before the final transposition deadline, transposition is 
on track in almost all Member States. Failure to transpose the PSD on time will cause legal 
uncertainty for citizens and the payment industry. The Commission will not hesitate to launch 
infringement proceedings under Article 226 of the EC Treaty.  

SDD migration should not require the re-signature of millions of new mandates. This would 
be  extremely  burdensome  and  costly,  especially  in  Member  States  with  high  direct  debit 
volumes. Where industry cannot develop an appropriate solution, Member States must find a 
way to ensure the continued legal validity of old mandates, e.g. during PSD transposition.  

Actions 

Actors 

Deadline 

13 
14 

Directive 2007/64/EC on payment services in the internal market, OJ L 319, 5.12.2007, p. 1. 
COM(2008)640 final 

EN 

7 

   EN 

                                                 
Ensure complete, consistent and faithful 
PSD transposition 

Member States 

1 November 2009 

Find a solution ensuring continued legal 
validity of existing direct debit mandates 
when migrating to SEPA direct debit 

Member States 

Solution to be put in place by 
1 November 2009 

b) Competition issues 

A  key  driver  for  SEPA  success  is  designing  proper  incentives  that  foster  migration  using 
business  models  that  are  compatible  with  EU  and  national  competition  law.  This  is 
particularly crucial for SDD and card schemes. 

As regards the SDD, the new Regulation on cross-border payments provides legal clarity for a 
three-year  period  ending  on  31 October 2012.In  the  Joint  Statement  of  24 March 200915  the 
Commission  and  the  ECB  have  provided  guidance  on  certain  principles  underlying  a  future 
SDD business model for the period after 31 October 2012. Furthermore the Commission and 
the ECB stand ready, during the interim period, to discuss with all stakeholders how to ensure 
a fair and proper business model that is in line with competition rules.  

With regard to cards, the Commission and the ECB would strongly welcome the emergence 
of additional schemes with a European dimension16.  

Actions 

Actors 

Deadline 

Provide further clarity as to compliance 
of long-term business models for SDD 
with EU competition law 

Commission 

November 2009, provided that 
necessary contributions from relevant 
market actors have been made 

Design and implementation of long-term 
business models for SDD in line with 
competition rules 

EPC 

c) Compliance issues 

1 November 2012 

The concept of SEPA compliance, as originally developed by the EPC, must be implemented 
by all relevant stakeholders for the SCT/SDD SEPA schemes and the cards and clearing and 
settlement mechanisms frameworks. The Eurosystem has published a set of expectations17 as 
well  as  detailed  Terms  of  Reference  (ToR)18  for  different  stakeholders  regarding  the  SEPA 
project. In the context of card payment migration, 'SEPA Card Framework compliant' should 
mean  'complying  with  the  interoperability  standards  being  developed  under  the  auspices  of 
the EPC'.19  

15

16 
17 
18 

19 

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/468&format=HTML&aged=0

&language=EN&guiLanguage=en;  
http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/other/singleeuropaymentsarea200811en.pdf 
See http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/other/eurosystemsepaexpectations200903en.pdf. 
See http://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/sepa/components/infrastructures/html/tor.en.html for the Terms of 
reference for the SEPA – compliance of infrastructures and 
http://www.ecb.int/paym/sepa/pdf/ToR_SEPA_compliant_card_schemes.pdf?1915cf8db5ec194b2c9e9
070ebeb2ff7 for Terms of reference for the SEPA compliance of card schemes. 
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/speeches/text/sp2008_03_en.pdf 

EN 

8 

   EN 

                                                 
 
Efficient  monitoring20,  enforcement  and  dispute  settlement  mechanisms  need  to  be  put  in 
place  in  order  to  ensure  full  compliance.  They  create  a  level  playing  field  enabling  market 
entry and more competition. These measures should be addressed as a priority once a proper 
SEPA governance structure has been set up.  

Actions 

Actors 

Deadline 

Implement Eurosystem’s SEPA ToRs for 

1) Card schemes 

card schemes 

June 2009 

2) Infrastructures 

infrastructures 

End-2010  

and expectations for 

1) banks and payment institutions 

2) users 

End-2010 

End-2010 

payment services 
providers 

corporates, SMEs, public 
authorities, payment 
services providers, 
merchants, retail 
customers/users 

2.4. 

Priority 4: Promote innovation  

SEPA should also drive the modernisation of retail payment markets, harmonising the use of 
internet and mobile phone from payment initiation to reconciliation in a secure environment.  

a) m-payments and e-payments 

The EPC is developing a mobile channel framework for the initiation and receipt of payments 
based  on  SEPA  credit  transfers  and  SEPA  card  payments.  In  close  cooperation  with  other 
service  providers,  it  is  defining  the  basic  requirements,  rules  and  standards  necessary  to 
execute payments across SEPA countries using a mobile phone, thus ensuring interoperability 
with services delivered by the various players in the mobile payments market. The framework 
should be delivered by end-2010.  
The  EPC  is  also  developing  a  SEPA  e-Payments21  Framework.  Existing  or  new  e-payment 
schemes  connected  to  the  SEPA  e-Payments  Framework  will  enable  consumers  to  make  a 
guaranteed payment to online merchants located anywhere in the 31 SEPA countries. 

b) e-invoicing 

Electronic  invoicing  significantly  increases  the  efficiency  of  financial  supply  chains  by 
integrating  the  reconciliation  and  payment  processes  of  enterprises.  E-invoicing  therefore 
contributes  to  a  simplified  business-friendly  environment  with  very  substantial,  potential 
economic benefits  of e-invoicing could amount to EUR 240 billion over a six-year period22. 
An expert group was established by the Commission at the end of 2007to develop a European 
e-invoicing  framework  by  end-2009  supporting  the  provision  of  e-invoicing  services  in  an 

20 
21 

22 

including in particular good traceability of payments and persons involved 
E-payment is defined as a payment where in the course of an online purchase the current account of an 
online buyer is directly debited and where the online merchant is directly informed on this, regardless of 
the location of the buyer and the merchant. 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/docs/sepa/sepa-capgemini_study-final_report_en.pdf 

EN 

9 

   EN 

                                                 
open  and  interoperable  manner  across  Europe.  In  parallel,  the  Commission  has  made  a 
proposal  for  an  amended  VAT  Directive23,  which  aims  at  putting  electronic  invoices  on  an 
equal  footing  with  paper  invoices.  Due  to  the  close  link  between  invoicing  and  payment 
processes, a European framework for e-invoicing and the SEPA could mutually benefit from 
each other. 

Actions 

Actors 

Deadline 

Deliver framework for m-payments24 

EPC, GSMA (association 
of mobile operators) 

August 2010  

Deliver framework for e-payments25 

EPC 

Complete European framework for 
e-invoicing 

Expert group on 
e-invoicing 

End-2009 

End-2009 

2.5. 

Priority 5: Ensure necessary standardisation, interoperability, and security  

Standardisation  and  interoperability  are  important  cornerstones  of  the  SEPA  project  and 
essential  in  a  network  industry  in  order  to  reap  the  full  benefits  of  SEPA.  SEPA  standards 
should be open, implemented at the highest level of security, non-proprietary and not inhibit 
product  innovation.  In  the  field  of  card  payments,  those  standards  should  allow  for  full 
interoperability, security and free access and facilitate the deployment of pan-European card 
schemes. 

Standardisation  should  allow  for  full  end-to-end,  straight-through  processing,  both  in  the 
customer-to-bank  and  bank-to-customer  domains  of  SCT  and  SDD,  as  well  as  in  the  cards 
area26  and  should  also  ensure  a  high  level  of  security  (including  security  evaluation  and 
certification). While additional optional services (AOS) may be necessary to maintain useful 
payment product features or to facilitate innovation, any risk of market re-fragmentation must 
be avoided. 

Actions 

Actors 

Establish consensus on the use of 
standards for structuring the unstructured 
remittance information (SCT)  

EACT, in cooperation 
with users 

Active communication and 
implementation of SCT implementation 
guidelines in C2B domain27*) 

Payment service 
providers, corporates, 
SMEs, public 
administrations, 
consumers, vendors 

Deadline 

June 2009 

End-2009 

23 
24 
25 
26 
27 

COM(2009)21 
Framework not mandatory for payment services providers. 
Framework not mandatory for payment services providers. 
Card-to-terminal, terminal-to-acquirer and acquirer-to-issuer and certification and type-approval. 
*)The EPC recommended guidelines are non-mandatory. However, to avoid market partition, all banks 
should  be  capable  of  accepting  the  recommended  EPC  standards.  If  not,  corporates  will  be  unable  to 
benefit  from  SEPA  (corporates  must  therefore  be  actively  involved  in  the  preparation  of  these 
guidelines).  

EN 

10 

   EN 

                                                 
Active communication and 
implementation of Core and B2B SDD 
implementation guidelines in C2B 
domain*) 

Payment service 
providers, corporates, 
SMEs, public 
administrations, 
consumers, vendors 

Definition of SCT and SDD (Core and 
B2B) implementation guidelines in B2C 
domain 

EPC 

Active communication and 
implementation of SCT and SDD 
implementation guidelines in B2C 
domain*) 

Payment service 
providers, corporates, 
SMEs, public 
administrations, 
consumers, vendors 

November 2010 

September 2009 

June 2010 

Adherence to Core SDD scheme28 

Payment service providers

1 November 2010 

Complete SCF Volume enabling card 
schemes to define concrete technical 
implementation specifications for cards 
standards  

EPC 

End-2009 

Implementation of technical 
specifications for cards standards 

Cards industry 

End-2009: decision to be taken on 
implementation date 

Develop best practices ensuring a high 
level of security for SEPA transactions29  

EPC 

Deliver framework for card transactions 
processing 

EPC 

Deliver framework for priority SCT 
scheme  

EPC 

End-2009  

End-2009 

End-2009 

Implementation of framework for 
priority SCT scheme30 

Payment service providers End-2012 

2.6. 

Priority 6: Clarify and improve the governance of SEPA  

a) Current SEPA governance  

SEPA  is  a  combination  of  self  regulation  by  the  financial  services  industry  and  supporting 
legislative measures. Given the substantial benefits of SEPA, there is a clear public interest to 
have effective governance arrangements. The uncertain economic environment also calls for a 
greater  political  steer  to  ensure  that  SEPA  is  delivered  on  time,  in  a  fully  accountable  way 
providing users with a better service.  

SEPA governance is currently organised at two levels:  

At  EU  level,  EPC  governance  is  structured  around  two  functions:  the  development  and 
evolution of payment schemes and the administration of and compliance to the schemes.  

28 

29 
30 

Deadline is only applicable to euro area Member States. Non-euro area Member States should adhere by 
1 November 2014  
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/docs/sepa/sepa-capgemini_study-final_report_en.pdf 
Implementation of the priority SCT scheme should be optional. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

                                                 
The  Commission  supports  the  SEPA  process,  by  closely  monitoring  SEPA  implementation 
and  by  discussing  developments  with  Member States  and  stakeholders31.  It  also  raises  the 
political profile of SEPA at European level. The ECB plays a similar role, acting as a catalyst 
to  support  the  delivery  of  SEPA.  The  ECB  has  observer  status  in  the  EPC  Plenary  and 
working groups, and coordinates the work of the Eurosystem. It runs various fora, such as the 
SEPA High-Level Meeting, to debate and promote SEPA.  

At  national  level,  SEPA  Coordination  Committees,  in  which  national  central  banks  are 
strongly involved, have been set up in all euro area Member States (and almost all outside) to 
coordinate  and  monitor  SEPA  implementation.  The  role,  composition,  duties,  and  working 
methods of these Committees differ widely, but all have the common objective of nurturing 
SEPA  migration  at  national  level.  Given  that  national  payment  habits  and  traditions  vary 
widely,  SEPA  must  be  delivered  in  a  national context. Therefore the role of national SEPA 
Coordination Committees is particularly important. 

b) The challenges for SEPA governance at EU level 

The  European  Commission  considers  that  there  is  a  need  for  an  over-arching  SEPA 
governance model at EU level, which fosters integration of the euro retail payments market in 
a way that meets the needs of end users.  

Therefore, the Commission will, in close cooperation with all actors concerned by the SEPA 
project,  in  particular  the  ECB,  strive  to  establish,  before  end-2009,  an  effective  SEPA 
governance  structure  at  EU  level.  This  could  take  the  form  of  an  EU  SEPA  Council  which 
would  be  set  up  for  a  duration  of  three  years.  The  Commission  and  the  ECB  would,  at  the 
latest by end-2011, evaluate its efficiency and functioning. 

The main objectives of this structure would be to: 

•  define  a  clear  strategic  vision  for  SEPA  that  is  innovative,  future  oriented  and  user 

friendly; 

•  monitor  and  support  SEPA  migration,  including  implementation  of  the  SEPA  Roadmap, 

and identify remedial action,;  

•  ensure transparency and accountability to the wider economy. 

The new governance structure at EU level will require high level representation by the supply 
and demand sides. Given the importance of the project to society, it should be co-steered by 
the Commission and the ECB. Proper coordination with other European institutions (Council 
of  the  EU  and  European  Parliament)  and  national  central  banks  as  well  as  national  SEPA 
coordination committees is vital.  

The new structure would not deal with individual SEPA compliance cases relating to the EPC 
rulebooks and frameworks. Nor would it take on tasks better tackled at national level or which 
fall  to  market  players,  such  as  designing  SEPA  payment  products,  or  which  can  be 
satisfactorily  addressed  by  improved  EPC  governance  arrangements.  The  new  governance 
structure  would  not  affect  the  respective  competences  of  its  members.  In  particular,  its 
deliberations and orientations would not in any way prejudge the application of competition 
rules at EU and national level. 

31 

In these tasks, the Commission consults and draws on the expertise of two working groups, namely the 
Payments  Committee  (replacing  the  Payment  Systems  Government  Expert  Group)  and  the  Payment 
Systems Market Expert Group. 

EN 

12 

   EN 

                                                 
In  addition,  given  the  crucial  role  of  the  EPC  in  the  SEPA  project,  the  existing  governance 
arrangements of the EPC deserve special attention. The EPC has made progress in balancing 
the  interests  of  different  stakeholders,  but  it  must  operate  in  a  more  open  manner  to  avoid 
possible foreclosure effects and take into account the interests of all stakeholders, including 
non-banking  stakeholders,  payment  institutions  and  users.  Greater  transparency,  adequate 
time  for  consultation  and  early  involvement  of  all  stakeholders,  in  particular  users,  in  the 
planning and design of future initiatives need to be ensured.  

Action 

Actors 

Deadline 

Establishment of effective SEPA 
governance structure at EU level 

Commission/ECB 

End-2009 

Biannual reporting of progress in the 
implementation of the SEPA Framework 
for action  

SEPA governance 
structure 

From the date of the official 
establishment of the new SEPA 
governance structure  

EPC 

Adoption of measures to the existing 
EPC governance model: 
1) enhance stakeholder participation and 
consultation; 
2) increase transparency; 
3) enlarge membership to payment 
institutions 

End-2009 

End-2009 
November 2009 

Evaluation of SEPA governance 
structure 

Commission/ECB 

End-2011 

3. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  Commission  invites  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  to  consider  and  endorse 
this  Roadmap.  All  stakeholders  are  invited  to  make  every  effort  to  ensure  rapid 
implementation of the individual measures identified.  

The  Commission  will  monitor  closely  the  implementation  of  this  Roadmap  and  publish 
progress reports on a biannual basis.  

EN 

13 

   EN