The 6 month SEPA deadline delay does not necessarily mean that you now have until 1st August, 2014 to ensure SEPA compliance within your organisation. The SEPA deadline transition, from 1st February to 1st August 2014, has brought about a lot of confusion between concerned parties. The confusion lies in the recent SEPA deadline amendment to Regulation (EU) 260/2012 which essentially gives PSP’s (Payment Service Providers) the choice to process legacy formats until 1st August 2014. The amendment does not say PSP’s must process legacy formats until 1st August. So, its down to each country to share how the payment service providers should handle legacy processes and formats until 1st August. They can either continue to support legacy / non-SEPA formats and processes until 1st August 2014, or the in-country authorities can impose their own earlier SEPA deadline.
The intention of this post is to share with you the various country SEPA deadlines. Hopefully this will help avoid any last minute surprises and ensure you’re ready.
The source is the ECB website: http://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/sepa/about/countries/html/index.en.html#sheets
Austria:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st August, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st August, 2014
Belgium*:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st April, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st April, 2014
Cyprus:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st August, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st August, 2014
Estonia*:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st February, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st February, 2014
Finland*:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st February, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st February, 2014
France*:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: To be confirmed
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: To be confirmed
Germany:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st August, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st August, 2014
- Direct debit format “Abbuchungsauftrags- lastschriftverfahren” will be discontinued on 1 February 2014
Greece:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st August, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st August, 2014
Ireland*:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 31st March, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 31st March, 2014
Italy*:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st February, 2014
- Legacy formats can be accepted by PSPs in exceptional circumstances that will be monitored by Banca d’Italia
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st February, 2014
- Legacy formats can be accepted by PSPs in exceptional circumstances that will be monitored by Banca d’Italia
Luxembourg*:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st February, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 31st July, 2014
The Netherlands:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st August, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st August, 2014
Portugal:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st August, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st August, 2014
Slovakia*:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st February, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st February, 2014
Slovenia*:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 1st February, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 1st February, 2014
Spain*:
- SEPA Credit Transfer deadline: 18th March, 2014
- SEPA Direct Debit deadline: 10th March, 2014
I think you can debate the rights/wrongs of how the SEPA deadline delay / transition has been handled. The various deadlines will arguably exacerbate the confusion! In my opinion, it is what it is, we just need to ensure we’re ready and the best way to do that is to stay informed. Hope this post has helped you. if it has don’t forget to share it with your friends / colleagues. And of course, let me know your opinions / thoughts below….