The next chapter of EU payments harmonisation: SEPA gets real

Abstract

The vision of a single market for payments within the EU was a core part of the Lisbon Agenda, now taken over by the European 2020 Strategy. With the introduction of the Euro, the need to develop the Single Market for Payments was born, but there needed to be a number of pan-European harmonisation efforts for it to be fulfilled. While key deliverables on the way to euro payments integration have now been completed at a legal and standards level, markets across the eurozone have not yet moved to pan-European scheme-compliant payments processing on a large scale. This paper explores the background to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) initiative, the reasons why it has taken so long to be delivered, its current status and next status, and next steps — including the proposal for the EU Regulation. Furthermore, the article observes how the SEPA project is being closely monitored by other countries and communities across the globe, serving as a model for regional payments integration and innovative standards adoption — and making it even more important for Europe to finish what it has started.