Mr Hartsink claimed that the January 1, 2008 Sepa deadline for direct debits will not be met as Europe’s lawmakers have failed to pass the payment services directive (PSD) legislation underpinning Sepa, which was scheduled to be passed by the end of 2006.
The existing national laws will enable card and credit transfers but not direct debits. Consequently, banks will meet the Sepa cards and credit transfers deadline but direct debits will have to wait for the PSD legislation to be passed.
Because of the PSD, we cannot continue to promise January 1, 2008 for direct debits. But this is beyond the control of banks, Mr Hartsink told Speed.
He also said that, if the current German EU presidency passed the PSD before April 2007, after allowing 18 months for transposition into national laws, the direct debit services will be fully implemented at the earliest in the final quarter of 2008.
