Therefore, it is in the interest of all stakeholders to migrate quickly to the SEPA instruments. So what will make industry and/or customers stop using the old products and switch to SEPA? A SEPA migration end-date for credit transfers and for direct debits would make clear that migration cannot take forever. The European Commission in collaboration with the  6  4  ECB, SCT Indicators (see http://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/sepa/timeline/use/html/index.en.html). BIS Review 151/2009  Eurosystem is, therefore, investigating the possibility of a Regulation to facilitate the migration to SEPA. The Eurosystem considers a legally binding instrument necessary for a successful migration to SEPA and hence fully supports such regulation. I also see a lot of support for this way forward in the market. Therefore, we should continue our efforts in setting a realistic but ambitious end-date for migration to SCT and SDD to reap the full benefits of SEPA. Conclusion Let me conclude. SEPA is not just about making life easier for European citizens and companies by removing obstacles to cross-border payments. SEPA is also about removing barriers to the single market, making payments more efficient, introducing more competition to the payments industry and speeding up innovation. Hence, rapid SEPA migration would bring tremendous benefits to the European economy as a whole. The single market for goods and services – created with the Maastricht Treaty 16 years ago – now needs a single market for financial services.
A successful SEPA for Cards also needs the harmonisation of technical standards, basic business rules and certification practices across schemes. Only this will bring an integrated cards market into effect. SEPA by its nature of harmonizing the retail payments market will promote more competition and hence will be a key driver of innovation in the market. New developments have already taken off in the field of eSEPA. eSEPA means the provision of various retail payment services by means of electronic channels – such as internet – in order to offer benefits to payment service users in the form of easier access, better functionality and a more attractive user experience. More and more companies and consumers operate online. Hence, the market needs to create European e-payment – or online – solutions, which will bring even more efficient and transparent trading at the retail level. For example, an “e-payment” is an internet banking payment. The web-merchant receives a payment guarantee confirmation in real-time and the goods can be released immediately. In addition, they have a security advantage, insofar as the merchant does not have to handle and store his clients’ confidential banking details. We welcome that the EPC is currently developing a framework for the interoperability of such online payment schemes. The Eurosystem strongly encourages the EPC to finalise the e-Payments framework in the near future. Moreover, we encourage the EPC to consider establishing a European e-payments scheme or to taking over one of the existing schemes.