Equens, Iberpay, Seceti, Stet and VocaLink have announced at SIBOS that they have agreed to work together for the exchange of Single European Payment Area (SEPA) payments.
Together, the Clearing & Settlement Mechanisms (CSMs) involved handled over 18 billion in direct debit and credit transfer payments in 2006. The group has now commenced testing over SWIFTNet FileAct, and is preparing to cooperate for the launch of the SEPA.
This agreement will create a competitive market for CSM services by allowing banks to choose the processor or processors that best meet their needs. Bilateral interoperability agreements between CSMs will enable the simple and efficient exchange of SEPA payments between CSM communities and other actors in the payment chain.
The agreement will see the implementation of the Technical Interoperability Framework version 3.0 which was produced and approved by the European Automated Clearing House Association (EACHA) on 31 August 2007. The Framework complements the SEPA standards created by the EPC and adheres to SEPA scheme rules.