Q&A SEPA
1. What is SEPA?
SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments Area. Once SEPA is achieved, it will be possible to exchange euro payments between any accounts in SEPA as easily as within national borders today. A transition period leading up to the full introduction of SEPA services began in January 2008.
2. What payment areas are included in SEPA?
SEPA includes three areas – Credit Transfers, Direct Debits and Debit Cards.
3. Can my company use SEPA payment services now?
Banks are already offering SEPA account transfers and payment cards; SEPA direct debit facilities will follow.
4. When will SEPA be fully introduced?
According to current plans, SEPA will replace the old standards in some countries, such as Finland, after 2010.
5. How will SEPA make transactions easier?
Once SEPA is achieved, it will be possible to exchange euro payments between any accounts in SEPA as easily as within national borders today. Common standards, faster settlement and simplified processing will improve cash flow, reduce costs and facilitate access to new markets. SEPA will also make it easier to build Payment Factories, since systems will speak the same language.
6. Have Nordic banks and companies already made these changes?
Companies with cross-border payment transactions are bound to notice the impact, even if they operate in a non-euro country. In the Nordic countries, Finland is the pioneer. Three Finnish banks are SEPA-ready, and there are more to come in 2009. Finnish companies are also preparing their systems for SEPA. In other Nordic countries, development has begun at a slower pace, but it should be noted that all countries will be affected, and companies with payments in euro countries can gain significant savings by using SEPA solutions in their payment traffic.
7. Which countries will be affected?
All 27 EU countries will be affected, and also Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Moreover, all companies doing business in the Euro zone will be affected by SEPA.
8. How will I know if I can benefit from SEPA?
If your company operates in the SEPA area using euros, you will benefit from SEPA. Firstly, you don’t have to use local payment standards anymore. Instead you can send all your euro payments from one country to any of the 31 countries using the same format, speed and price. In additition, you will achieve a true straight-through-processing – all the information sent will also be delivered. There will no longer be need for European collection accounts, because the payments can be collected to one place at the same price without value day losses
9. How should I start to prepare for SEPA?
Get in touch with your system providers and your banks to get information about their SEPA status. If you are interested in knowing more about the pros and cons for your company, you can also contact OpusCapita. Send mail to tapani.oksala(at)opuscapita.com or call +358 207 463 253.
Why OpusCapita?
A large proportion of OpusCapita’s R&D and many of its customers are located in Finland, and Finland’s SEPA migration plan is the most ambitious in Europe. Our first customers switched to SEPA payment transactions back in 2007. At OpusCapita, we already have the solutions in place. Being among the first in Europe to do so, we are already supplying SEPA-compatible payment solutions.
