Updated on 28.01.2010.
The single euro payments area implies a single currency with a
single set of payment instruments.
SEPA (single euro payments area) is an area including the EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Monaco and EU overseas territories in which consumers, companies and other economic actors will be able to make and receive also cashless euro payments, whether between or within national boundaries, under the same conditions, rights, and obligations, regardless of their location.
SEPA is a project for the customer payments market. The national central banks and EU institutions - the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission - have a supportive role in the project. In November 2006, the ECB published information brochure "The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA): an integrated retail payments market", which is available also in Latvian since 19 March 2007. In July 2009, the European Central Bank published an updated version of the information brochure "The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA): an integrated retail payments market". The updated version contains the latest information about the SEPA project timeline.
On 18 December 2007, Oskars Sprudzins, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Latvia, in his reply to Charlie McCreevy, the European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services, appointed the Money and Payment Systems Working Group (MPSWG) as the national SEPA Steering Committee under the Euro Project auspices. Taking into consideration the task of developing the national SEPA implementation plan and incorporating the SEPA project into the national euro implementation plan, on 28 October 2008 the MPSWG established the National SEPA Working Group.
In order to ensure the compliance of the
electronic clearing system EKS of the Bank of Latvia with the
SEPA requirements, the Board of the Bank of Latvia supported
"The Concept on Electronic Clearing System elaboration into the SEPA
compliant infrastructure" by its Resolution No. 901/2 of 19 February
2009. On 3 August 2009, the Bank of Latvia sent to the European
Payments Council a disclosure letter of intent to make EKS a SEPA
Credit Transfer Scheme compliant clearing and payment infrastructure. The self-assessment of the SEPA-compliance
of the EKS of the Bank of Latvia, meeting the ECB Terms of
Reference for the SEPA-compliance of infrastructures, has been
enclosed.
By its Resolution No. 929/3 of 23 July 2009 the Board of the Bank of
Latvia approved the Bank of Latvia SEPA Plan,
which sets an objective to describe the use of SEPA core products at
the Bank of Latvia by offering SEPA credit transfers to its customers.
At the same time, pursuant to the above Resolution, the Bank of Latvia
supports the SEPA project in Latvia and as a SEPA product user commits
to send and receive SEPA credit transfers and as a SEPA product
provider to offer its customers the opportunity to send and receive
SEPA credit transfers as of 12 November 2010. In accordance with the
Plan the Bank of Latvia conducted the self-assessments of its operation
as SEPA products' user and provider that is to be ensured as
of 12 November 2010. The self-assessments ascertain the compliance of
the Bank of Latvia with SEPA requirements.
With the aim to provide neutral, publicly available, comprehensive information about the SEPA project progress, tasks, stakeholders' benefits and other information, which is topical for SEPA product implementation and developments, the National SEPA Working Group has developed the National SEPA Latvija website - SEPALatvija.lv. The National SEPA Latvija website was launched on 2 July 2009.
Important links| National SEPA Latvija website → SEPALatvija.lv |
| Association of Latvian Commercial Banks → SEPA |
| European Central bank → SEPA |
| European Commission → SEPA |
| European Payments council → SEPA project coordinator |
