French Banking Federation Asks for Interchange Mechanism for Development of SEPA Direct Debt

14 january 2011 – The FBF believes the European Regulation published by the European Commission on 16 December 2010 creates a handicap for the implementation of the SEPA payment scheme. The regulation establishes new technical and pricing requirements for SEPA credit transfers and direct debits, leading the National SEPA Committee* to express very strong concerns.

French banks are displeased to see such provisions put in place now that the SEPA payment scheme has already been launched. SEPA credit transfers have been in effect since January 2008 and direct debts since November 2010. Certain details which had already been defined are now called into question. Furthermore, the European Commission reserves the right to make other changes at its own discretion. This kind of instability generates operational problems and additional costs for all economic operators.

The European Commission also wants to prohibit the remuneration of interbank services, without proposing another viable economic model. In such case, consumers’ banks could no longer be compensated easily and transparently for services rendered to creditors’ banks, thus undermining the very principle of the interbank system as we know it, with all of its advantages in terms of quality of customer service, pricing transparency and general transaction security.

Within the framework of the talks set to begin on the draft regulation, the FBF is once again asking the Commission to maintain an interchange mechanism for SEPA direct debits and to eliminate the newly proposed technical requirements.

* The National SEPA Committee coordinates the implementation of European payment systems in France. It is comprised of representatives of all stakeholders: banks, administrations, companies, merchants and consumers as well as members of Parliament and representatives of the Economic and Social Council, the Mayors of France Association and the press.