Brussels, 21/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - Various retail bank service groups and consumers' organisations have reacted to the draft EU regulation setting deadlines for migrating national bank payment and direct debit systems to the Single Euro Payment System (SEPA) (see EUROPE 10257).
The European Savings Bank Group, ESBG, is disappointed, commenting that “the long uncertainty entertained by the Commission around this topic contributed to the currently low acceptance of the pan-European payment schemes developed by the banking industry.” It explains that the draft regulation does not provide the necessary clarity about standards and technical requirements. ESBG is unhappy about banning the use of multilateral interchange fees (MIF). ESBG managing director Chris De Noose commented: “To meet the challenges of a very competitive international environment, the Commission should definitely resist the temptation to revert to a command economy when it comes to payments.”
The European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) says that the draft legislation is a substantial improvement when it comes to security of automatic payments. It has repeatedly warned of the risk of users of the service being defrauded out of their cash and research by the British Economic Research Centre discovered 26,000 cases of fraud in 2010 alone. BEUC welcomes the option for consumers to block any direct debits to specific creditors and to put an upper limit on them: “Without these obligatory requirements, a fraudster could, with my bank details and my name and address, instruct my bank to withdraw money from my account without my consent,” explained BEUC director general Monique Goyens.
Last week, the European Commission suggested that SEPA bank payments and direct debits should come into force 12 months and 24 months respectively after the date of application of the new regulation, expected towards the end of next year. In order to ensure interoperability, various technical standards would be made compulsory, such as international bank account numbers (IBAN) and bank identification codes (BIC or SWIFT codes). Consumers would be able to put limits on the amount and frequencies of payments leaving their bank accounts. To ensure transparency and competitive pricing, the draft regulation bans MIF (that a creditor's bank pays to the debtor bank in six member states, namely Belgium, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and Sweden). (M.B./transl.fl)