Council of the European Union demand for SEPA migration push

Deadline is fast-approaching

According to Finextra, at the latest economic and financial affairs meeting, the Council voiced their backing for the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) project and issued a reminder about the fast approaching migration deadline for Direct Debits and Direct Credit.

The Council expressed concerns over stakeholders that seem to be leaving their SEPA migration until the last minute, which could expose them to “undue operational risks impacting smooth handling of payments”. A recent report from the ECB exposed the issues hindering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and public authorities. The Council commented on the level of awareness calling the programme “fragmented and the level of preparedness is rather poor”.

A spokesperson from SmartDebit commented: “To be able to collect Direct Debit payments across Europe presents a great opportunity, not only to us but to our clients as well. Stakeholders should have an understanding of their clients and suppliers readiness as well as pressing forward with their own preparations. We are continuing our developments towards becoming SEPA compliant, and anticipate to have completed migration and full testing by the end of Q4 2013.”

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