Of course, when we look beyond the traditional banking sector, solutions do exist, even offering a global reach to e-commerce merchants. Other new players are entering the market and offer appealing propositions to end-users. The ECB welcomes efficient, safe and reliable payment systems and services, regardless of who is offering them. The status quo in retail payment services cannot be expected to remain stable.
For banks, this poses various strategic questions which the EPC might also wish to reflect upon during its strategic retreat today. In view of the limited progress achieved by the market so far, the SEPA Council11 has identified a number of key challenges to be examined in order to ensure the provision of  7  Capgemini (2012): World Payments Report 2012.