The role of the Eurosystem

One of the Eurosystem’s basic tasks is to promote the smooth operation of payment systems. The legal basis for the Eurosystem’s competence in the area of payment systems is contained in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. According to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, "the ECB and the national central banks may provide facilities, and the ECB may make regulations, to ensure efficient and sound clearing and payment systems within the Union and with other countries".

The Eurosystem uses its expertise as well as contacts with the private sector and other public authorities to improve overall market efficiency. The Eurosystem is keen to help the industry find safe and effective payment, clearing and settlement solutions for the euro area. An important example of the Eurosystem’s catalyst work is its contribution to the creation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).

Why is the Eurosystem involved in SEPA?

Since 2002 it has been possible to make all cash payments throughout the euro area using a single currency. Likewise, it should also be possible to make non-cash euro payments using a single set of payment instruments, both within and across borders. SEPA will achieve this.

By harmonising the way non-cash euro payments are made, SEPA will promote the smooth operation of payment systems. In addition, SEPA will complete the introduction of the euro as the single currency of the euro area and enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of the European economy as a whole. All this explains the strong interest that the Eurosystem has in SEPA.

Active support of SEPA

The Eurosystem supports the development of SEPA by:

• providing guidance to market participants: through speeches and publications, such as the SEPA progress reports, the Eurosystem provides a continuous assessment of the progress made and draws attention to the issues that need further work. In addition, the Eurosystem offers guidance to the market whenever it is needed by clarifying specific issues.
• ensuring that SEPA is in the interest of all stakeholders: the Eurosystem participates in the working groups of the European Payments Council (EPC), organises its own events and fora, and participates in external events to make sure that the needs of all stakeholder groups – consumers, retailers, companies, payment service and infrastructure providers, etc. – are taken into account. The ultimate aim, since the start of the project, has been to ensure that the resulting retail payment market is in the best interests of the European Union.
• contributing to the coordination of communication: the Eurosystem considers it important to keep all stakeholders informed in a timely, transparent and consistent manner. In order to reduce the risk of misunderstandings that is naturally present in such a big project, the Eurosystem helps to coordinate the communication strategy:
• at European level: the Eurosystem, the European Commission and the EPC closely coordinate their communication activities.
• at national level: all euro area countries have set up coordination bodies. These bodies consist mainly of representatives from the national governments, national banking associations, end-user organisations and the national central banks. Their purpose is to ensure the implementation of SEPA by keeping all participants fully informed and preparing them for SEPA.
• encouraging the use of SEPA payments: the faster the new instruments and services are adopted, the earlier the benefits of SEPA can be reaped. Therefore, the Eurosystem seeks to foster the use of the SEPA payment instruments by encouraging their adoption by big senders and receivers of payments, such as corporations or the public sector. In addition, it encourages the market to develop and offer value-added services to fully exploit the benefits of SEPA and, as a consequence, make it more attractive to the users of payment services.