Regulation 2012/260 - Technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 94/22

The creation of an integrated market for electronic payments in euro, with no distinction between national and cross-border payments is necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market. To that end, the single euro payments area (SEPA) project aims to develop common Union-wide payment services to replace current national payment services. As a result of the introduction of open, common payment standards, rules and practices, and through integrated payment processing, SEPA should provide Union citizens and businesses with secure, competitively priced, user-friendly, and reliable payment services in euro. This should apply to SEPA payments within and across national boundaries under the same basic conditions and in accordance with the same rights and obligations, regardless of location within the Union. SEPA should be completed in a way that facilitates access for new market entrants and the development of new products, and creates favourable conditions for increased competition in payment services and for the unhindered development and swift, Union-wide implementation of innovations relating to payments. Consequently, improved economies of scale, increased operating efficiency and strengthened competition should lead to downward price pressure in electronic payment services in euro on a ‘best-of-breed’ basis. The effects of this should be significant, in particular in Member States where payments are relatively expensive compared to other Member States. The transition to SEPA should therefore not be accompanied by overall price increases for payment service users (PSUs) in general and for consumers in particular. Instead, where the PSU is a consumer, the principle of not levying higher charges should be encouraged. The Commission will continue to monitor price developments in the payment sector and is invited to provide an annual analysis thereof.

The success of SEPA is very important economically and politically. SEPA is fully in line with the Europe 2020 strategy which aims at a smarter economy in which prosperity results from innovation and from the more efficient use of available resources. Both the European Parliament, through its resolutions of 12 March 2009 (4) and of 10 March 2010 (5) on the implementation of SEPA, and the Council in its conclusions adopted on 2 December 2009, have underlined the importance of achieving rapid migration to SEPA.

Directive 2007/64/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2007 on payment services in the internal market (6) provides a modern legal foundation for the creation of an internal market for payments, of which SEPA is a fundamental element.

Regulation (EC) No 924/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on cross-border payments in the Community (7) also provides a number of facilitating measures for the success of SEPA such as the extension of the principle of equal charges to cross-border direct debits and reachability for direct...