Any stakeholder can participate in the SEPA payment scheme change-management process organised by the , and the also conducts a dialogue with stakeholders in formal bodies. The is also involved in other stakeholder initiatives, which contribute to payments standardisation, though they are not directly related to the schemes.
The Euro Retail Payments Board
One such external body is the Euro Retail Payments Board ( ). The is a high-level body chaired by the European Central Bank, bringing together the supply and demand sides of the industry to address strategic retail payments issues. Major topics impacting the payment schemes can be discussed at the .
The Scheme End-User Forum (SEUF)
The SEUF is formed by representatives of European associations of end-users of the payment schemes, such as consumers, (e-)merchants and corporate treasurers.
The Scheme Technical Forum (ESTF)
The ESTF is made up of the representatives of technical players who provide services facilitating the processing of transactions under the payment schemes. Members of this forum include, for example, Clearing and Settlement Mechanism organisations, technical solution providers and payment messaging services companies.
The regularly involves these forums in the evolution of the payment schemes. These forums have an active part to play as they can address issues and make recommendations to the . The publishes their positions and comments on the change requests that were subject to a public consultation.
The SEUF and ESTF are renewed on a two-yearly basis, starting from their creation in September 2015.
There are still vacant seats among some categories within the SEUF and the ESTF. Further information about the criteria to be a candidate, and how to apply for membership, is available in the SEUF and ESTF profiles.
Further information about these forums, summaries of their past meetings, and their positions on the latest public consultations on the scheme rulebooks are available via the following links:
The Multi-stakeholder Group on E-invoice Presentment and Payment (EIPP MSG) started its work in February 2018, and its mandate was extended for 2019. The Group was responsible for coordinating the work on topics such as adoption of a standardised technical ISO 20022-based message for Request-to-pay, the harmonisation of other identified servicing messages related to EIPP and creation of a new set of corresponding ISO 20022 messages. The EIPP MSG ended its mission in November 2019, but the process of ISO 20022 message set creation – for servicing messages - was followed in 2020 with support from the Secretariat and experts from the 2019 EIPP MSG. The creation of a Multi-stakeholder group on EIPP was proposed by the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB).
Initially, the standardised RTP functionality was identified as a key component for interoperability and development of new and existing E-invoice presentment and payment (EIPP) eco-systems. Subsequently, the
observed that other initiatives were being launched in the market making use of the RTP from a broader perspective for claiming payments by a Payee from a Payer. The
considers that the RTP could be a compelling functionality complementing the
payment schemes for a better end-to-end payment user experience in retail and B2B commerce.
Based on the analysis performed by the
on how the RTP could be linked with
and
payment schemes, and on the outcome of the work of other
multi-stakeholder groups (MSG) such as EIPP MSG and the MSG on Mobile initiated
and
(MSCT MSG), the
was created in Q1 2019 aiming to analyse and prepare the concrete and rapid exploitation of the RTP functionality from a broader perspective.
Following the publication of the MSG’s RTP specifications for a standardisation framework in November 2019, and taking into account its recommendations, the created an ad-hoc Task Force (RTP TF) tasked with the development and maintenance of the scheme rulebook. In addition, the mandate was extended to fulfil a consultative role towards the RTP TF.
The
is hence actively involved in the evolution of the
scheme and can address issues and make recommendations to the RTP TF. The
will also publish the
positions and comments on the change requests that were subject to a public consultation. The approved minutes and agendas of the
are equally published on the
website.
At its 29 September 2021 meeting the Board confirmed the establishment of the Payment Account Access Multi-Stakeholder Group (SPAA MSG) which is expected to develop a scheme in relation to access to payment accounts (SPAA) - with the legal and regulatory requirements of constituting the 'baseline’, but also going beyond such baseline to encompass value-added (‘premium’) services that may be provided in the context of ‘open banking’ as a natural evolution of - in line with the requirements defined in the June 2021 report of the ERPB Working Group on a SEPA API Access Scheme.
As a first priority, the SPAA MSG is tasked with i) reaching an agreement on the scheme’s concrete scope and prioritised requirements and ii) creating a scheme development plan which takes into account a phased approach in line with prioritised business needs, for approval by the Board in November 2021.