SEPA for high-value payments?

“Banks should move to pan-European platforms” is the message coming from both the politicians at the European Commission and from the regulators at the European Central Bank (ECB). This strategy has focused very much on the retail level and the automated clearing house (ACH) business, but it applies equally to high-value payments. EBA Clearing puts forward its view for the future prospects of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).

It is true that SEPA is less of a pressing issue for high-value payments systems, because this market has already started to undergo consolidation and the two prime infrastructures,TARGET and EURO1, already operate at a pan-European level. Much has been reported recently about the forthcoming move to TARGET2, but at the same time, EURO1, which is operated by the bank-owned EBA Clearing Company, has been continually evolving to meet the needs of banks and support their migration towards SEPA.