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Euro Retail Payments Board

On 19 December 2013 the ECB announced the launch of the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB). This new entity, which replaces the SEPA Council, will help foster the development of an integrated, innovative and competitive market for retail payments in euro in the European Union.

Press release announcing the ERPB

Objective

The objective of the ERPB is to contribute to and to facilitate the further development of an integrated, innovative and competitive market for euro retail payments in the EU by:

  • identifying and studying technical, behavioural and legal obstacles in – but not limited to – (i) credit transfer payments, (ii) direct debit payments, (iii) card payments, (iv) internet payments, (v) mobile payments and (vi) payments-related horizontal issues (e.g. issues related to standards, fraud and security);
  • identifying and pursuing ways to address these obstacles;
  • identifying and pursuing ways to foster innovation, competition and integration in retail payments in euro in the EU.

Organisation

The ERPB is chaired by a high-level representative of the ECB. It is composed of the following members:

  • on the supply side of the market, four representatives of the banking community, two representatives of payment institutions and one representative of e-money institutions;
  • on the demand side of the market, two representatives of consumers and one representative of each of the following stakeholder categories: (i) retailers with a physical presence, (ii) internet retailers, (iii) businesses/corporates, (iv) small and medium-sized enterprises and (v) national public administrations.

In addition to the members, five national central banks (NCBs) representing the Eurosystem and one NCB representing the non-euro area NCB community take part in the meetings on a rotational basis as active participants, in the sense of participating and contributing to the discussions, but without taking a position when a final conclusion/consensus is adopted. Furthermore, the European Commission is invited to join the ERPB as an observer.

For the execution of its mandate, the ERPB may establish a working group for a limited period of time for dealing with specific work priorities. Several groups may operate in parallel, depending on the work priorities.

The ERPB reports annually on its activities, common positions, guidance or statements adopted in the previous year and on its objectives and deliverables for the following year.

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