Migrating to SEPA: the great unknown
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 5:48 am
There are 230 days left to complete the migration from national payment instruments to SEPA payment instruments: SEPA transfers (SCT) and SEPA direct debits (SDD) and the migration to SEPA remains unknown.
In fact, from 1 February 2014, the new SEPA payment instruments will be mandatory, replacing national transfers and direct debits (direct debits). This will bring a whole series of telegram korean list advantages and a further step towards economic and monetary integration in the European Union.
If I were asked today what the most worrying aspect of migration is, the answer would clearly be the great lack of knowledge that companies and, probably also public administrations, still have about the migration process and how it affects them.
As regards Credit Institutions, we can say that they have prepared the migration, as the vast majority have their systems adapted to process SEPA payment instruments, although the Banks still have a lot of work ahead to facilitate the work of their clients in different areas that we will analyze in the next posts.
Going deeper into the lack of knowledge of companies, it is important to distinguish the knowledge and preparation of the migration to SEPA that the so-called "large issuers" of transfers and direct debits are carrying out, from that which SMEs in Spain may be carrying out.
Large issuers are usually large companies with Finance Departments and Treasury departments that are usually aware of national and European financial regulations. However, we cannot say that even these large companies are prepared. This is demonstrated by the fact that, for example, only 2% of direct debits made in Spain are currently compatible with SEPA or by the high level of unawareness responses to the various surveys carried out on SEPA, even by large companies.
But, above all, because of the results recently published by the Eurosystem on qualitative indicators of migration in Spain, which show, as can be seen in the following table, that not even the large issuers and public administrations have finished their preparations for migration, although they are expected to be completed on time before February 2014.adaptation to sepa
But the situation of ignorance about migration and its effects is clearly greater in SMEs . For this reason, the Monitoring Committee on Migration to SEPA, at its meeting on 15 April, recognised that the next update of the above table, which will be published next June based on information from the first quarter of 2013, must be carried out "also including the SME sector, which is of great importance in our country".
It is important to note that SEPA payment instruments will affect all companies and businesses, including SMEs and self-employed workers . For those who do not use bank accounts to date because their level of payments to suppliers and employees, and debts to customers, is not significant, the migration to SEPA should not involve a great effort.
However, it is important for you to know some aspects of SEPA instruments, such as that you will need to know the IBAN (and BIC) of your suppliers and employees in order to make transfers to them and you will have to communicate or exchange your IBAN (and BIC) with that of your clients to facilitate the collection of their invoices.
However, for all those companies, including many SMEs and also self-employed workers, that have been using bank accounts as a very efficient way of processing their collections and payments and managing their treasury, an appropriate migration to SEPA payment instruments will be vital. And this appropriate migration involves, first of all, knowing what it consists of and preparing for the change.
In many cases, the change will be facilitated by the fact that most SMEs that use national payment instruments (mainly bank books to date) issue them with the help of their management software, be it an accounting, invoicing, payroll product, or an ERP solution.
In fact, from 1 February 2014, the new SEPA payment instruments will be mandatory, replacing national transfers and direct debits (direct debits). This will bring a whole series of telegram korean list advantages and a further step towards economic and monetary integration in the European Union.
If I were asked today what the most worrying aspect of migration is, the answer would clearly be the great lack of knowledge that companies and, probably also public administrations, still have about the migration process and how it affects them.
As regards Credit Institutions, we can say that they have prepared the migration, as the vast majority have their systems adapted to process SEPA payment instruments, although the Banks still have a lot of work ahead to facilitate the work of their clients in different areas that we will analyze in the next posts.
Going deeper into the lack of knowledge of companies, it is important to distinguish the knowledge and preparation of the migration to SEPA that the so-called "large issuers" of transfers and direct debits are carrying out, from that which SMEs in Spain may be carrying out.
Large issuers are usually large companies with Finance Departments and Treasury departments that are usually aware of national and European financial regulations. However, we cannot say that even these large companies are prepared. This is demonstrated by the fact that, for example, only 2% of direct debits made in Spain are currently compatible with SEPA or by the high level of unawareness responses to the various surveys carried out on SEPA, even by large companies.
But, above all, because of the results recently published by the Eurosystem on qualitative indicators of migration in Spain, which show, as can be seen in the following table, that not even the large issuers and public administrations have finished their preparations for migration, although they are expected to be completed on time before February 2014.adaptation to sepa
But the situation of ignorance about migration and its effects is clearly greater in SMEs . For this reason, the Monitoring Committee on Migration to SEPA, at its meeting on 15 April, recognised that the next update of the above table, which will be published next June based on information from the first quarter of 2013, must be carried out "also including the SME sector, which is of great importance in our country".
It is important to note that SEPA payment instruments will affect all companies and businesses, including SMEs and self-employed workers . For those who do not use bank accounts to date because their level of payments to suppliers and employees, and debts to customers, is not significant, the migration to SEPA should not involve a great effort.
However, it is important for you to know some aspects of SEPA instruments, such as that you will need to know the IBAN (and BIC) of your suppliers and employees in order to make transfers to them and you will have to communicate or exchange your IBAN (and BIC) with that of your clients to facilitate the collection of their invoices.
However, for all those companies, including many SMEs and also self-employed workers, that have been using bank accounts as a very efficient way of processing their collections and payments and managing their treasury, an appropriate migration to SEPA payment instruments will be vital. And this appropriate migration involves, first of all, knowing what it consists of and preparing for the change.
In many cases, the change will be facilitated by the fact that most SMEs that use national payment instruments (mainly bank books to date) issue them with the help of their management software, be it an accounting, invoicing, payroll product, or an ERP solution.