Tuesday 21st January, 2014

According to statistics by the European Central Bank (ECB) migration to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) increased at a sharp rate in December.

The latest figures provided by national central banks show 74% of credit transfers in the euro area were already SEPA-compliant at the end of December (from 64% in November). For direct debits, the figure stands at 41%, a very steep increase from the 26% registered in November.

Figures for December show that if the current pace of migration continues, the vast majority of stakeholders will complete their migration by 1 February 2014. Although a recent APN news item shows the SEPA deadline was extended to accept payments outside SEPA until 1st August.

The ECB urges all market participants to continue their current migration pace and to complete the transition of all credit transfer and direct debit transactions to the SEPA standards by 1 February 2014.