|
Today |
Tomorrow
SEPA Harmonization |
|
National/local solutions. |
Common solutions with optional additional services. |
|
Different schemes, experiences, standards and consumer protection laws. |
Central payment instruments and common experiences, consistent norms, standardized consumer protection law enforcement. |
|
Lack of interoperability in national schemes. |
Interoperability. |
|
Different national implementations. |
Harmonization and consolidation. |
|
Complexity and cross-border risk. |
Reduced complexity, enhanced efficiency. |
SEPA implementation shall be given priority within the euro zone. Nonetheless, SEPA will also reach other areas within Europe, thus contributing towards a Single Payments Market.
There are 31 European countries that are a part of SEPA, 13 from the Euro area, plus the remaining 14 from the EU, 3 from the EEA (European Economic Area) and also Switzerland.
|
Euro Area - 13 |
Non-Euro Area - 14 |
EEA + Switzerland - 4 |
| 1. Belgium (BE) |
14. Czech Republic (CZ) |
28. Iceland (IS) |
| 2. Germany (DE) |
15. Denmark (DK) |
29. Norway (NO) |
| 3. Greece (GR) |
16. Estonia (EE) |
30. Liechtenstein (LI) |
| 4. Spain (ES) |
17. Cyprus (CY) (1) |
31. Switzerland (CH) |
| 5. France (FR) |
18. Latvia (LV) |
|
| 6. Ireland (IE) |
19. Lithuania (LT) |
|
| 7. Italy (IT) |
20. Hungary (HU) |
|
| 8. Luxembourg (LU) |
21. Malta (MT) (1) |
|
| 9. The Netherlands (NL) |
22. Poland (PL) |
|
| 10. Austria (AT) |
23. Slovakia (SK) |
|
11. Portugal (PT) |
24. Sweden (SE) |
|
12. Finland (FI) |
25. United Kingdom (UK) |
|
| 13. Slovenia (SI) |
26. Bulgaria (BG) |
|
| |
27. Romania (RO) |
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(1) As of January 2008, these two countries (Malta and Cyprus) will join the Euro Area.