The European Parliament has passed legislation that establishes 1 February 2014 as the legally-binding deadline for banks to migrate to the new SEPA system.
The single European payments area (SEPA) regulation was passed by the European Parliament on 14th February 2012 and lays down EU-wide rules aiming to ensure that banks compete fairly, eliminate hidden national charges and accelerate transfers, potentially saving up to EUR 123 billion within six year, according to official estimates.
To this end, the rules will ensure that euro credit transfers or direct debits that are possible within SEPA countries are also possible across frontiers between them.
By eliminating multilateral interchange fees on cross-border direct debits as of 2012, the regulation enables businesses to establish their payment centres in any EU Member State.
Businesses could also organise all cross-border euro payments from a single euro account in a country of their choice in order to improve money management and speed up cash flows at lower cost.
The new legislation was adopted in the first reading with 635 votes in favour, 17 against and 31 abstentions.
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