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SEPA for Banks

The SEPA initiative will provide banks with both challenges and costs, but also savings from both processing costs and the reduction in cash services required with the migration to electronic payments.

The SEPA schemes will lead to increased competition in the SEPA market. Competition can be expected to be the most efficient driver for market development, to the benefit of all payment service users.

From a payment card perspective, it will require changes to the current systems and infrastructure to ensure they are compliant with the SEPA Card Framework. This in turn will allow greater competition and security, increasing competitiveness in the market place and reducing fraud.

Market Opportunities for Banks
Electronic Transfer Schemes (ETS) Cards
  • Integrated "go to market" strategies
  • Open market for ETS services and open membership of all ETS schemes in all countries
  • One account serves all Europe
  • New account products - domestic/EU wide features:
    • ability to service pan-EU sorporates and merchants
    • large corporate liquidity management products - single relatonship
  • New propositions and products for consumers
  • Increase of marker share in euro retail markets
  • Develop white label payment processing services to "in-source" smaller banks
  • New propositions for cardholders
  • New propositions and value add product features for large/small merchants
  • Open market for cards issuing/acquiring and processing
  • Open membership of all card schemes in all countries
  • New acquiring processing platforms enable new markets
  • Become independant acquiriers operating outside national interbank frameworks
  • Develop alliances and JV's with sector players

The Direct Debit and the Credit Transfer Schemes will allow the banks to increase STP through the banks' payment systems. With relatively cost effective changes to their payments infrastructure and the inclusion of payment reference data within these systems they can further increase their STP rates and further reduce, charges, rejections and repair costs.