While retail banking has still some way to go in this regard, SEPA presents an opportunity for change and represents a far reaching initiative with the ambition to reshape the multitude of fragmented retail payments national markets into an integrated, highly-competitive one. The ECB very much supports all progress in this direction.
I believe that SEPA is a commitment for change towards efficiency and increased competition from which all stakeholders will benefit. It is a high-momentum period which should be used for constructive efforts, particularly also in the domain of cards. Banks may be overwhelmed by the huge amount of micro-management that SEPA requires in order to implement the various requirements.