Making retail PAYMENTS faster, especially cross-border payments, was one of the prime initial policy objectives of SEPA. This objective has been clearly met for cross-border payments: since 1 January 2012, the Payment Services Directive has OBLIGATED all EU payment service providers to adhere to strict time LIMITS in the execution of their payments (“D+1”). The impact of SEPA on the SPEED of execution of retail payments at the national level will, however, be less obvious, as, for instance, the starting conditions have varied substantially across the different countries.

Making retail payments faster, especially cross-border payments, was one of the prime initial policy objectives of SEPA. This objective has been clearly met for cross-border payments: since 1 January 2012, the Payment Services Directive has obligated all EU payment service providers to adhere to strict time limits in the execution of their payments (“D+1”). The impact of SEPA on the speed of execution of retail payments at the national level will, however, be less obvious, as, for instance, the starting conditions have varied substantially across the different countries.