Proposal for a Regulation 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

Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 establishes common technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euros, and as such is an important building block in the realisation of a single euro payments area (SEPA). That Regulation sets 1 February 2014 as the end-date in the Eurozone for the migration of domestic as well as intra-European credit transfers and direct debits in euros towards SEPA credit transfers (SCT) and SEPA direct debits (SDD).

According to the latest statistics of the European Central Bank (ECB), the overall migration rate in the euro area for SEPA Credit Transfers (SCT) has increased from 59.87% in October 2013 to 64.1% in November, whereas the overall migration rate for SEPA Direct Debits (SDD) has increased from 11.52% in October to 26% in November. Notwithstanding the Commission's repeated efforts to raise awareness among Member States' competent authorities, and the significant campaigning efforts as regards SEPA migration undertaken by the European Central Bank and in many Member States, SMEs, small public administrations and local authorities continue to be the least prepared for actual migration. The communication efforts by the banking industry vis-à-vis SMEs and national information campaigns do not seem to have produced the expected effects or at least not to the expected extent.

Considering the low migration pace in some Member States for SCT and in most Member States for SDD, it appears very unlikely that the SEPA migration will be fully completed on 1 February 2014. However, in view of this legal end-date, banks and other payment service providers are likely to refuse from that date onwards to process legacy payments which are not SEPA compliant. In the absence of full migration to SCT/SDD, payment incidents leading to delays in payment or market disruptions cannot be excluded. These might affect all payment services users, and particularly SMEs and consumers.

Given this major legal problem and the potentially severe consequences for citizens and companies, the Commission proposes to amend Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 by introducing a grandfathering clause allowing banks and other payment service providers to continue after 1 February 2014, for a limited period of 6 months, the processing of non-compliant payments through their legacy payments schemes alongside SCT and SDD.

A clear communication of such amendment will provide certainty to the payment service users that their payments will continue to be processed after 1 February 2014, and it will allow those that have not yet migrated to do so as rapidly as possible. The end-date itself is not amended, and the grandfathering is an exceptional one-off measure.

Under all circumstances, on-going information campaigns on the SEPA migration should continue. At the end of the grandfathering period, the Commission will not hesitate to take the necessary steps to ensure the full application of EU law by the Member States.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)937: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:937:FIN

ESO: Background information: Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA): Commission introduces an additional transition period of six months to ensure minimal disruption for consumers and businesses http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-single-euro-payments-area-sepa-commission-introduces-an-additional-transition-period-of-six-months-to-ensure-minimal-disruption-for-consumers-and-businesses/

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