Under the SEPA End-date Regulation,
banks will not be allowed to automatically convert non-SEPA payments to SEPA
payments after Feb 2014. This means that transactions in old formats will not
be processed by the bank.
It will be however possible for banks
or other providers to offer conversion services – as long as these are
independent of the banks' normal payment chain. This will however constitute an
extra cost for the retailer (if his systems are not SEPA-ready). In addition,
such services will be available only for a limited time.
What is
SEPA?
SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments
Area and is a project managed, supported and promoted by the European Payments
Council. The initiative aims to replace differing cross border payment methods
with a single common system to increase ease, simplicity and efficiency.
In effect, the introduction of the
Euro currency as cash was only the first half of a process. Introducing this
single payments area for digital transfers is the second step in becoming a
financially streamlined area for trade and payments.
Currently it can be a challenge or
even impossible for an Irish person to buy an item online, from France, for
example, using their Irish debit card. Problems also can arise transferring
money or attempting to set up direct debits if they are cross-border. Uniform
SEPA standards for payments and banking will solve this and is a very exciting
prospect for many businesses that will be able to buy and sell services and
goods online to a much wider audience when this comes into effect.
Benefits
and Changes in a Single Euro Payments Area
Specific
requirements for business and consumers
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The Malta Chamber of SMEs represents over 7,000 members from over 90 different sectors which in their majority are either small or medium sized companies, and such issues like the one we're experiencing right now, it's important to be united. Malta Chamber of SMEs offers a number of different services tailored to its members' individual requirements' and necessities. These range from general services offered to all members to more individual & bespoke services catered for specific requirements.
A membership with Malta Chamber of SMEs will guarantee that you are constantly updated and informed with different opportunities which will directly benefit your business and help you grow. It also entails you to a number of services which in their majority are free of charge and offered exclusively to its members (in their majority all free of charge).
