European Union finance chiefs are urging banks to complete a continentwide payment network as product delays and government hesitance cast a cloud over its partial opening next week.
The Single Euro Payments Area must be as good and as cheap as existing payment methods, or public authorities will not use it, finance ministers from the 27 E.U. countries warned in a statement issued Tuesday.
Patrick Poncelet, the head of payments at the European Banking Federation in Brussels, said in a telephone interview before the meeting: "Banks are committed to continue the efforts and investments made to launch the SEPA project, to make sure that it arrives at its full completion. We realize that we're not there yet."
The ministers also called for government authorities "to be early adopters of SEPA" and play an "important catalytic role" in helping the system gain widespread acceptance.
Participating banks will begin offering the first "credit transfers," letting customers pay a bill or move funds to an account abroad, on Jan. 28. Other services will be added later. "Direct debits," or standing orders to pay a utility bill or other preauthorized expense, will be available in November 2009.
The E.U.'s financial services commission has estimated that the SEPA project could save more than $178 billion over the next six years by streamlining cross-border payments and reducing the use of cash.
