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| "french banking community is ready for sepa" |
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| French banks supported SEPA from the early stages.
They are actively backing the EPC’s work. |
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• How do you view the progress made by the Single European Payments Area today? Is progress fast enough? What is hindering its construction?
Philippe Citerne: Over the past few years, intra-European payments have
progressed very well in terms of rates and service quality. However, the European authorities want to go further and implement a single payment area by eradicating the current national differences. This goal is all the more ambitious in that the current systems correspond to cultural behaviour specific to each country and operate according to economic balances that it could be hazardous to disrupt. In other words, such European consolidation must be implemented with caution and carefully managed over time. Moving too fast in this area could have negative effects on the market totally out of proportion with the benefits expected by the authorities.
• What major steps forward have been made? What are the priorities now?
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22%
is the French share of
payments in Europe. |
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Within the EPC, the banking community has nearly completed defining two new SEPA payment instruments: “Direct Debit” and “Credit Transfer”. Using this conceptual notion as a basis, it still has to define the security conditions for future transactions and set in place the European processing infrastructure. It is now essential to develop the economic model underlying this reform in order to establish the project’s financial visibility which is virtually nil at present.”
• Are French banks ready for the SEPA as indicated in the FBF document sent to the EPC?
Representing almost one quarter of the volume of payments handled in Europe, the French banking community was obviously an early and very strong supporter of the SEPA. It participates
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| The French banks have set up a platform to process SEPA instruments." |
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actively in the EPC’s work and one of its representatives is the Deputy Chairman
of this organisation.
Nationally, and as an extension to the working groups that meet at regular intervals under the aegis of the FBF, a broader consultation and steering structure has just been set up. At the top of this organisation, a “SEPA Committee” co-chaired by the Banque de France and the FBF will include representatives of the banks and users (public services, companies and consumers). At the same time, the French establishments have taken it upon themselves to revise their exchange system to provide a platform that is capable of processing the new SEPA instruments, interconnecting with the rest of Europe, and positioning itself as a potential regional system.In all, the French banks have made a maximum effort to be ready for the SEPA. I would add that the success of the migration does not solely depend on them; it will depend just as much on the response of users, not least of which the Administration.
• What major changes will this Payment Europe mean for French banks?
Firstly, one of the aims of this project is to introduce greater competition. This principle of competition is of course laudable, providing the rules of the game are the same for everyone. In this respect, the privileged status that the
Draft NLF (New French Finance Law) seems to want to grant to non-banking service providers had caught our attention.
Secondly, as the new payment instruments are very different to those available today, banks will have to review their internal processing procedures and reposition their services to customers so that the latter do not perceive the SEPA as a step backwards.
Lastly, it should not be overlooked that the operating account of the Payments activity is in serious jeopardy. We are fairly clear about the magnitude of the investment needed, but we are in the dark over the conditions for invoicing these future services. We can only hope that the situation will become clearer in the months ahead.
• Does the bank card have a specific status within the harmonisation of payments means in Europe?
The answer is obviously yes for three reasons. Firstly, it is the most suitable instrument for local payments and it is on the back of its success that it is hoped to reduce the use of cheques and cash. On the other hand, behind the apparent uniformity of bank cards, there are major differences from one country to another in their use and method of invoicing. Finally, the infrastructure needed to process this instrument is complex as the actual settlement entails acquisition at the merchant outlet and management of authorisations.
Under these conditions, implementing a “SEPA card” is a particularly difficult task. The EPC has clearly understood this, as it has limited its contribution to listing general principles and is leaving it up to the national communities to agree on a concrete solution. The French banks have an efficient system, but they are all convinced today of the need for it to acquire a European dimension, which will involve consultation with other banking communities. |
| • Nicolas Humbert |
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