30.10.13 By Etienne Goosse

In February 2012, the European Union (EU) legislator, (i.e. the European Parliament and the Council of the EU representing EU Member States), adopted the Regulation (EU) No 260/2012, which effectively mandates migration to SEPA in the euro area by 1 February 2014. In May 2013, the Council of the EU stressed that the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 “have to be fully respected by all market participants” in the euro area. “Everybody has to be ready on 1 February 2014 or risk disruptions in their individual handling of payment orders,” said Benoît Cœuré, member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) in October 2013. He pointed out that this is also the position of the Council of the EU and the European Commission. Mr Cœuré added: “We have been emphasising the fact that both payments providers and users are responsible for being sufficiently prepared. And our message to them is still the same: don’t leave it to the last minute.” In October 2013, the ECB published the most recent qualitative SEPA indicators. These indicators reflect the assessment by national central banks as of the third quarter of 2013 with regard to SEPA readiness of payment service providers, corporates, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and public administrations in the 17 euro area countries. This data shows that further efforts are required to ensure, in particular, SEPA readiness of euro area SMEs. Etienne Goosse reports.

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