PURPOSE: to postpone the end-date in the euro area for the migration of domestic and intra-European credit transfers and direct debits in euros to the new SEPA-standard-based credit transfers and direct debits.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 248/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 as regards the migration to Union-wide credit transfers and direct debits.
CONTENT: the amending Regulation postpones to 1 August 2014 the deadline for migration from national credit transfer and direct debit schemes to harmonised SEPA (single euro payments area) standards.
The Regulation amends Regulation (EU) 260/2012, which had set a migration deadline of 1 February 2014.
The Regulation also states that Member States may allow payment service providers (PSPs) to provide payment service users (PSUs), until 1 February 2016, with conversion services for national payment transactions enabling PSUs that are consumers to continue using BBAN on condition that interoperability is ensured.
Despite the considerable efforts made by the European Central Bank, Member States, their national public authorities and market participants during recent months, the latest migration statistics show that the overall migration rate in the euro area to harmonised SEPA credit transfer (SCT) has only increased from 40 % in June 2013 to around 64 % in November 2013, while the overall migration rate towards SEPA direct debit (SDD) has only reached 26 %. It was therefore very unlikely that all market participants will be SEPA compliant by 1 February 2014.
The postponement of the end-date will avoid unnecessary disruption of payments resulting from the fact that SEPA migration is not fully completed by 1 February 2014. Payment service providers should therefore be allowed, for a limited period of time, to continue the processing of payment transactions through their legacy schemes alongside their SCT and SDD schemes, as they are doing now.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 21.03.2014. The Regulation applies with retroactive effect from 31.01.2014.