The Scheme End-User Multi-Stakeholder Group (SEU MSG) is a dialogue channel between the European Payments Council (EPC) and representatives of European associations of end-users of the EPC’s Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) payment schemes and payment-related schemes, such as consumers, corporate treasurers, e-merchants and retailers.
The SEU MSG held its fourth meeting on 12 September 2023. The approved agenda and minutes are available on this page.
During this meeting, the SEU MSG was reminded about the change-over to the 2019 version of the ISO 20022 standard-based XML messaging on 19 November 2023 for all four SEPA payment schemes. It was informed that end-users will still have the choice either to continue using their currently selected Customer-to-PSP file set-up (i.e. based on another version of ISO 20022) or to opt for using the EPC specifications for Customer-to-PSP files based on the 2019 version of ISO 20022.
Several MSG members pointed out a very low communication activity so far from the Payment Service Providers (PSPs) towards (especially corporate) customers about the ISO version migration.
The SEU MSG was informed about discussions within SWIFT to possibly refrain from introducing the exclusive use of structured addresses as of November 2025 and to consider instead the introduction of a hybrid address. The SEPA payment schemes currently impose the exclusive use of structured addresses as of November 2025. The SEU MSG expressed its views on these developments within SWIFT and its preferences to the EPC.
The SEU MSG further discussed the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme implementation status at that point in time. The main topics were the European Commission’s proposal on instant payments and possible EPC steps, the European Commission’s proposal for a Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service and the EPC’s current intentions for such CoP concept, the SCT Inst scheme adherence status and projections, and the prospects and current obstacles for the further use of the SCT Inst scheme by payment end-users.
The SEU MSG was also informed about the outstanding EPC deliverables prior to the launch of the One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer (OCT Inst) scheme on 28 November 2023.
The SEU MSG members were briefed about the timeline of the 2024 EPC payment scheme rulebook change management cycle and were also invited to share possible change requests.
The SEU MSG also obtained a detailed update on the status of the EPC SEPA Request-To-Pay (SRTP) scheme rulebook and on the next steps the EPC was currently considering for this EPC payment-related scheme. The SEU MSG also discussed the SRTP scheme implementation status at that point in time and any current obstacles for the further use of that scheme by payment end-user groups.
Finally, the SEU MSG was informed about the re-composition process of the SEU MSG for a new mandate of two years as of 2024.