Cash & Liquidity Management
Published  8 MIN READ
Please note: this article is over 14 years old. If you feel this article is inaccurate or contains errors get in touch here . Many thanks, TMI

Is SEPA truly pan-European?

The KLM SEPA Story

by Ruth Wandhöfer, Payments Industry and Strategy, Treasury & Trade Solutions, EMEA, Global Transaction Services, Citi, and Plenary Member, European Payments Council with Michael Imeson, Contributing Editor, The Banker

Dutch airline KLM was one of the first companies to implement the SEPA Credit Transfer on a large scale. What lessons can we learn from its experience?

The first phase of the Single Euro Payments Area has arrived. Many payment users – companies, public sector bodies and consumers – have enthusiastically embraced it while many others continue to use national Euro payment products and are likely to do so for years to come.

So what is it, in the corporate world at least, that convinces some companies to move quickly to SEPA standards while others are content to carry on as before? What are the advantages of SEPA products over the old ones? And how do companies handle the changeover?