Market Change

Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)

SEPA became a reality on 28th January 2008 with the launch of the new SEPA Credit Transfer Service.

As a key player in the European payments market, Citi is fully committed to the implementation of SEPA and achieving the vision of an efficient, harmonized payments market. With our presence in 22 countries across SEPA, we are ideally positioned to help you assess the impact on you organization and lead you through this period of change.

To achieve this, Citi offers a range of SEPA capabilities to enable clients to start integrating the new payment instrument into their existing Cash Management activities. This includes embedding the new SEPA Credit Transfer instrument within our CitiDirect® Online Banking platform as well as a range of file-based payment solutions.

SEPA will continue to evolve over the coming years, with additional features and new instruments such as theSEPA Direct Debit service. Your Citi team continues to actively engage in the critical industry dialogue that will shape the future of the European payments market. We will continue to invest in innovative solutions to meet your Cash Management needs in the new SEPA environment.

As you navigate the fast pace of change from regulation, technology and the global marketplace your Citi team is fully committed to being your banking partner of choice. For more information on how your organization can take advantage of the benefits of SEPA:

SEPA explained
Despite the implementation of the Euro in 1999-2002, the European payments market continues to operate on a largely national basis.

The majority of payments are handled through local automated clearing houses (ACH), which each operate under their own national rules, standards and practices. Although 13 countries use a common currency (becoming 15 in 2008 with the admission of Cyprus and Malta), each operates a local payments infrastructure where national payments are cheap and efficient but payments to other Member States are complex, expensive and inefficient.

The European authorities have called on the banking industry to work towards the removal of these national barriers and the creation of a single domestic market where payments can flow efficiently between any bank in any Member State.

In response, the European Payments Council was established in 2002 in order to support and promote the creation of this new environment, which has become known as the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).