Public administrations and SEPA: A win–win situation

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) initiative from the European banking sector is designed to take the European Union internal market and monetary union to a next stage. It is strongly politically motivated by the European Council and the European Commission, as a means of contributing to the Lisbon agenda and increasing the overall competitiveness of the European economy. From a political point of view, it may thus be expected that the public sector will act as a launching customer of the new SEPA payment services. Whereas in the Netherlands the central government has shown its SEPA initiatives and is well advanced in its SEPA preparations, local and regional public bodies have not yet shown themselves as front runners. Local administrations have stated that they are orienting on SEPA, but are looking at SEPA in terms of a business case and the propositions of banks. Given the considerable cost savings that could be realised in the future SEPA area in terms of increased efficiency and servicing, public administration should have an argument to accelerate the SEPA migration process. But a marriage between banks and the public sector has to come from both sides. Banks should therefore act as the payments service facilitator, delivering the required and attractive business propositions at the public sector’s request. By doing so, they can create a catalyst for making SEPA a success for all stakeholders.