October 29, 2009

While the EU admits its plan to create a Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) across Europe will take longer than expected, consumer and banking groups argue that the scheme needs to be revised before it is rolled out any further.Monday (2 November) marks the launch of SEPA's hotly-anticipated direct debit scheme, which aims to cut red tape on cross-border payments.

But banking and consumer associations say they have serious concerns that SEPA will open the way for more fraud and unfair pricing on payments.SEPA, which aims to establish a single rulebook on credit transfers, debt transfers and payment card services, began on 28 January with the introduction of the SEPA Credit Transfer.According to figures from the European Central Bank (ECB), as of August 2009, only 4.5% of transactions were processed as SEPA Credit Transfers.