Paul Styles nicely sums up the state of confusion amongst banks that surrounds SEPA. Uncertainty piled on uncertainty – the SEPA story And then came Finextra’s report of 10 June 2010 which proclaimed “SEPA migration deadlines: dates floated but no decision”. Uncertainty continues to reign… Technorati Tags: SEPA,Europe,payments Continue reading SEPA – more confusion
CapGemini have come out with their World Payments Report – 2009 [pdf 60 pages]. Lots of statistics, but the one that leapt out at me is this. Japan stands out as a growth leader, despite being a mature economy. Certainly their growth potential is large given the traditional consumer cash economy, but I have to look at the North American lowly 5% and wonder that lack of innovation in payments is not a driver. Certainly there remains lots of cash transactions to convert to payments but nominal innovation in the works to migrate to electronic. The report notes that cash … Continue reading Non Cash Growth as a barometer of Payment Innovation
Diverse presentations in the first part of todays session at DigitalMoneyForum. The first two were on the unified payment initiative in Europe, SEPA. It is a complex initiative, that is designed to standardise three payments at first: credit transfer (bank to bank deposits – doesn’t exist in North America) direct debit card payments Lots of rules and regulations, but the message is that such standardisation cannot occur without regulation, but that it also requires co-operation and engagement of users (Banks) in order to make it happen practically. It does seem quite bogged down, and I am still not clear when … Continue reading Payments, Russia and Europe | Digital Money Forum
Dave highlights apparent flaws in the SEPA system. When you get government involved in commercial systems, the results are not always what you want. – no internet availability– unbelievably expensive …. I would suggest usury expensive! Digital Money Forum: SEPA update So, in summary, sending 50 euros to Amsterdam in the exciting new world of SEPA took two trips to the bank, cost £15 (ie, a transaction fee of 40%) and took three days. Next time, I’ll use PayPal. Continue reading Best intentions not always the best | SEPA
Bankwatch 