SEPA National Committee: Attention from Companies Required
- The French SEPA National Committee considered very likely the fast adoption of the EU regulation on SEPA end-dates. It however underlined the absence of transparent, viable and fair business model for interchange. It also stressed the necessity to avoid the proliferation of options and variants, as well as the dangers accompanying a fixed amount direct debit instrument with no reimbursement rights.
- The Committee deplores that only 16% of French credit transfers on average are SCTs. The recent increase is only due to administrations, which should have completed their conversion by end 2011, including social institutions.
- A large scale communication plan has been agreed on to mobilise companies, including local SMEs. On 9 November 2011, a SEPA conference will talk them into adopting a more operational attitude towards their SEPA migration.
- Finally, the derived “niche products” such as TIPs (French Interbank payment voucher) and télérèglement (EDI direct debits) should have migrated by end 2016 in France. Their evolution will be gradual, as the financial sector is committed to maintain them until this very EU deadline. It will also develop alternative innovative means of payments, such as face-to-face credit transfers. An update on these evolutions will be made in autumn 2011.
- According to the AFTE (French Treasurers) end May 2011, 80% of public and social administrations’ payments had already been converted to SCT. Private companies used to proactively examine these evolutions, but, since the financial crisis, they are now waiting and focussing on set deadlines such as the ETEBAC migration – delayed until mid-2012.
- The French financial sector may expect its payment offer to be upset, mostly on direct debits (see next news on EU Council’s vote). In addition to interchange ban in 2018, it will have to adapt to yet another EPC instrument, the Fixed Amount SDD (FA SDD). This variant will come into effect next November, and can be seen as a third kind of SDD. It is expected to be limited to pay for goods and services referenced in the guide of best practices currently studied by the EPC.
- Payment users have now set a deadline to design and prepare the migration of TIPs and EDI payments. It can also take advantage of this to drive away part of the cheques volumes to a face-to-face payment under development, in line with the Report on cheques issued by the CCSF last February by the firm Edgar, Dunn & Co.
See November 2010 Watch.