Eurosystem consults on draft oversight frameworks for credit transfer and direct debit schemes

The Eurosystem, which comprises the European Central Bank (ECB) and the 16 national central banks of the euro area, has today published the documents entitled “Draft oversight framework for credit transfer schemes” and “Draft oversight framework for direct debit schemes” for public consultation. The aim of these documents is to provide oversight frameworks for credit transfer and direct debit schemes in the context of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), an initiative that will enable customers to make cashless euro payments to anyone located anywhere in the euro area, using only a single bank account and a single set of payment instruments.

As a consequence of the creation of SEPA, the retail payment landscape is changing significantly, and the importance of a consistent approach with regard to the oversight of payment instruments is increasing. The Eurosystem has therefore developed a “Harmonised oversight approach and oversight standards for payment instruments” to create a common ground for all payment instrument frameworks. The draft oversight frameworks for credit transfer and direct debit schemes build on this document, while accommodating the specificities of the payment instruments in question. Once these frameworks have been finalised, the Eurosystem will develop common assessment methodologies for the credit transfer and direct debit schemes. Furthermore, national central banks may also decide to apply the common standards for the oversight of other national (i.e. non-SEPA) payment instruments.

The Eurosystem invites all interested parties to comment on the drafts by 10 November 2009. The “Draft oversight framework for credit transfer schemes” and the “Draft oversight framework for direct debit schemes” can both be downloaded from the ECB’s website.

The respective national central banks will serve as contact points for national schemes and actors in their countries and are ready to provide further information or discuss questions regarding the oversight framework.

Any comments received will be made public on the internet, unless it is clearly indicated that the author does not consent to such publication.

Comments should be submitted to the ECB in English, or in the relevant official EU language, at the following address:

European Central BankSecretariat DivisionKaiserstrasse 29D-60311 Frankfurt am MainGermanyFax: +49 69 1344 6170E-mail: ecb.secretariat@ecb.europa.eu

Comments may also be sent to the respective national central bank of the Eurosystem via the following link: http://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/links.en.html.