Single European Payment Area, SEPA (also referred to in German; less commonly

Einheitlicher Europäischer Zahlungsverkehrsraum): A goal initially set by the EU Commission in 2002, according to which prices for cross-border transfers of up to EUR 12,500 – whether by credit card, debit card, bank wire transfer, direct debit or other means – were to be brought into line with domestic prices within the euro area as of July 1, 2003. After this goal was not achieved for various reasons, mainly for organizational reasons, the introduction took place on January 28, 2008, and now included all payment transactions. In addition, a tight set of rules was created to guarantee a smooth technical process. – The introduction of SEPA in as many as 31 European countries was put on a par with that of the EUR. This is because it also involved a fundamental change in national clearing systems, which had often been ingrained for centuries, to an EU-wide harmonization. This is also a prerequisite for a European card alliance.
– Until then, around 60 billion transactions a year were processed via bank accounts in the EU countries on different technical systems and in accordance with national security standards. As a rule, the systems were not compatible with each other, but were isolated applications. The migration to SEPA cost the banks involved around EUR 10 billion. EUR. – With Electronic SEPA (eSEPA), the next step is to organize all means of communication, including mobile phones and the Internet, for payment transactions in the euro area. – From February 2014 and a granted extension period of six months, national procedures for credit transfers and direct debits may no longer be offered. At the beginning of November 2012, the German Bundestag formally confirmed accession to the Single European Payments Area. – Private households in Germany can continue to use the account number and bank sort code instead of the IBAN for domestic transfers until February 1, 2016.- See Payment procedures, innovative, European Payments Council, International Bank Account Number, Payez Mobile, SEPA Council. – See in great detail Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report of December 2005, p. 29 ff. (with numerous overviews), Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report of December 2006, p. 98 ff. (status of the project; clearing of card transactions in the system), Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2007, p. 110 (progress; efforts toward a pan-European card system), Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report of July 2008, p. 52 ff. Development of the scheme, overviews; SEPA for card payments), Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2009, p. 118 f. (ongoing developments), Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report of January 2012, p. 47 ff. (detailed account; many overviews; legal sources), ECB Annual Report 2012, p. 136 ff. (explanation of various measures to improve the system), Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report of December 2013, p. 29 ff. (detailed account of retail payments in the euro area; many overviews), Financial Stability Report 2013, p. 66 (no systemic risks from the changeover), BaFin Annual Report 2013, p. 87 f. (individual issues relating to SEPA).

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