The SEPA Migration Action Round Table (SMART) continues its work on clarifying, fine-tuning and, where necessary, defining inter-bank practices with a view to ensuring a smooth completion of SEPA migration across Europe.

SEPA Direct Debit exception-handling paper

The group has published an extended and updated version of its paper Guidance on the handling of SDD R-transactions and related charging principles, which was presented at a session of the EBAday conference in Helsinki earlier this month. The Guidance Paper (to download copy, see here.), contains:

• Updated sections on: 1) overview of country specific reasons, 2) classification of the reason codes according to the party causing the R-transaction, 3) R-transaction charging arrangements in selected Eurozone countries, and 4) clarifying description of reason codes
• New Annex 4: Initial analysis of outcome of SMART questions on SDD-R transaction issues
• New Annex 5: National registers or documents on SDD R-transaction requirements.

“The new version of our guidance paper includes first results from our recent survey on R-transaction issues, to which we have received replies from banks in 15 EU countries,” said Jan Paul van Pul, Head of Market Infrastructures, ABN AMRO Bank, and Chairman of the SEPA Migration Action Round Table.

“Our objective is to come back with more detailed or new recommendations on a number of key issues after the summer based on the priorities raised in this survey. SDD R-transactions are still the number one concern of many corporate customers, so there continues to be a need for properly identifying and tackling the issues at hand, in co-operation with the EPC.”

Given the persisting issues that banks and their customers experience in the processing of SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) R-transactions, this topic will remain a central item on the agenda of this forum for banks and by banks beyond the end of the SEPA migration transition period on 1st August 2014.

Continued focus on SEPA migration

Aside from SDD exception-handling, the round table participants plan to focus on remaining SEPA migration-related topics, such as the move of non-euro EU communities to SEPA Credit Transfers and Direct Debits or the phasing-out of niche products.

The mission of the SEPA Migration Action Round Table is to bring clarification to SEPA migration-related issues and to define industry best practices in order to support banks in their inter-bank and intra-bank handling of SEPA payments, independently of the payment infrastructure they use. The forum is logistically supported by the Euro Banking Association.

Further guidance notes and papers issued by the group can be found at www.abe-eba.eu/N=SMART.aspx