The European Commission published a report on November 23, 2017 (COM(2017) 683 final) to the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on the application of the Single Euro Payments Area (“SEPA“) Regulation (Regulation 260/2012) (SEPA Migration Regulation).

The SEPA Migration Regulation set the end-date for migration from national credit transfer and direct debit payment instruments to SEPA credit transfers (“SCT“) and direct debits (“SDD“). For member states that belonged to the euro area, this date was February 1, 2014 (although this was postponed for six months). Member states that do not belong to the euro area had until October 31,  2016 to migrate.

Article 15 of the SEPA Migration Regulation requires the Commission to report on the application of the Regulation by February 1,  2017.

The Commission sent a questionnaire to member states on December 15, 2016 about a number of issues such as the migration from legacy credit transfers and direct debits to SCT and SDD, the use of options by member states, the authorities designated for ensuring compliance with the Regulation and their powers, and issues that may still be encountered across the EU relating to the implementation of the Regulation. The member states’ responses form the basis for the Commission’s report.

The Commission concluded that, overall, the SEPA Migration Regulation is correctly applied across the EU, and there is currently no need for a follow-up legislative proposal. The very few issues (such as international bank account number (“IBAN“) discrimination and competent authorities’ competences) that persist have been addressed by member states and their resolution should be closely monitored. The main issue to be closely observed is IBAN discrimination by payees (that is, imposing an obligation on payers to pay from an account located in a specific country, which is contrary to Article 9 of the Regulation). Although the number of cases have decreased, the Commission believes that new cases could still arise.