SEPA, PSD, etc.: A European framework

The SEPA project (Single Euro Payments Area) follows on from the European Directive on Payment Services (2007/64/CE, dated 13 November 2007), which aims to ensure equitable and open access to payment markets and to strengthen consumer protection.

In this context, the SEPA specifies the harmonisation of means of payment in three areas: bank transfers, direct debits and payment cards in Europe.

To reach these objectives, the European banks and their professional organisations created the EPC (European Payments Council) in 2002. It established the SEPA Cards Framework, which defines the high-level principles aiming to allow cardholders to make payments by bank cards in Europe with the same ease of use as in their own countries.