SEPA / NASO

The creation of a Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) aims at encouraging the integration of the European market by facilitating cross border electronic payments in euro between the countries participating in SEPA¹ by making them cheap and secure similar to the existing national payments. In SEPA banks’ clients may order payments to beneficiaries’ accounts in banks situated in other euro area countries by using a single bank account and the same payment instruments. The SEPA project is initiated by the European Commission (EC) and the European Central Bank (ECB) with the support of the European Payment Council (EPC), which unites banks’ representatives, associations and other organizations participating in the payment process in Europe. The SEPA project started as of January, 28th, 2008 when the banks participating in the project began to perform SEPA Credit Transfers (SCT). The project is planned to finish in 2010.

A National Payment Systems Council (NPSC) was established at the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). The NPSC consists of representatives of the BNB, ABB, payment operators, the Ministry of Finance as well as other institutions involved in the payment process. The National Migration Plan to SEPA and other important issues on the development of the payment systems in the country are discussed at the NPSC.

As a member of EPC the ABB has intensified its international activities. As of June, 2007 the Association has its representative in the EPC Plenary, and as of September the same year the Chairman of the Payment Systems Committee at the ABB represents the Association in the SEPA Payment Schemes Working Group at the EPC. Due to the priority of the issues in the field of payment systems the ABB also appointed a representative in the Payment Systems Committee at the European Banking Federation (EBF), where the Association is a full member. A lot of information on SEPA instruments, standards and infrastructure for payments and procedures for banks’ adherence to SEPA is published on the Internet sites of ECB, EPC and EBF.

By a decision of the Executive Board of the ABB as of October, 19th, 2007 a National Adherence Support Organization (NASO) was created at the Association. The NASO includes the ABB representative in the EPC Plenary – currently Mr. Stilian Vatev, the Chairman of the Payment Systems Committee at the Executive Board of the ABB – currently Mr. Emil Hristov and the coordinator of the Payment Systems Committee at the Executive Board of the ABB-Mrs. Irina Kazandieva. The role of NASO is to facilitate the process of banks’ adherence to SEPA by consulting them on different issues in relation to banks’ participation in the scheme and communication with the EPC, mainly in transmitting the adherence pack to the EPC regarding the banks’ participation in the Scheme. Banks that are members of the ABB may send questions to the NASO regarding its activities on the following e-mail: bgnaso@intech.bg.

The banks may submit the adherence pack for SCT and SDD in the following ways:

Subsidiaries that participate in SEPA through the parent bank can submit the adherence pack through the local NASO, or through the NASO situated in the country in one of subsidiaries adhering to the Scheme, or through the NASO situated in the country of the parent bank. When subsidiaries submit the adherence pack simultaneously they can do this through a chosen NASO, or directly to the EPC. If the parent bank has agreed several subsidiaries, incl. the Bulgarian one, in order to submit the adherence pack together the parent bank can submit it directly to the EPC, or use some of the ways described above. The way in which the bank is going to submit its adherence pack depends on the agreement between the parent bank and the subsidiary.
Banks that have agreed to perform SCT and SDD by joining directly to PE-ACH or through another bank, either a local or licensed in the EU bank, may submit the adherence pack through the Bulgarian NASO or through the NASO situated in the country of the agent bank, which is going to submit the documents to the EPC if the Bulgarian bank and the agent bank have agreed on this.
Branches of banks licensed in the EU adhere to the schemes automatically if the parent bank has accomplished the respective procedures on adherence and they do not use a NASO for adherence to the scheme.

Information on the e-mails of the already created NASOs in the EU member states can be reached on the EPC web site.

¹ The number of countries participating in SEPA is 31 and they are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway.