The United Kingdom (UK) and European Parliaments have now ratified the UK Withdrawal Agreement, paving the way for the UK to leave the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020. The UK will then enter the agreed transition period, which currently runs from 1 February until 31 December 2020. Therefore, the European Payments Council (EPC) would like to shed some light on the status of UK Payment Service Providers’ (PSPs) participation in the SEPA Payment Schemes and of SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) / SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) transactions involving UK PSPs as from 1 February 2020.

What will happen after 31 January 2020?

The UK is due to leave the EU on 31 January 2020, 11 PM, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which will mark the start of an eleven-month transition period for the adoption of negotiated measures and the conclusion of the future Agreement to govern the relations between the UK and the EU. 

During the transition period, which will run until 31 December 2020, 11 PM, GMT, the UK will cease to be a Member State of the EU and will become a non-European Economic Area (EEA) country. However, during said period, the UK will remain part of the EU Single Market and customs union, and the relevant EU regulatory framework will continue to apply.

For the purposes of the EPC SEPA payment schemes, although the UK will become a non-EEA SEPA country as of 1 February 2020, UK PSPs will continue operating within the scope of the SEPA schemes, because the UK will keep complying with the relevant SEPA participation criteria as existing EU rules and regulations will continue to apply in the UK. To this extent, between 1 February and 31 December 2020, no new requirement will apply, and no changes will be needed for SCT/SDD transactions to and from the UK. This includes practical considerations, such as charging codes and treatment for Anti-Money Laundering purposes which will remain the same during this period. 

In line with the EPC Board decision of 7 March 2019, which approved the continued participation of UK PSPs in the SEPA schemes after Brexit, the EPC will regularly monitor the developments of Brexit throughout the transition period and thereafter.