OREANDA-NEWS. On 01 June 2009 was announced, that the seminar ” Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA): Challengers and New Possibilities” was organised in the Bank of Lithuania in Vilnius for the public sector representatives.

When opening the seminar, Mr Vaidievutis GeralaviCius, Chairman of the Single Euro Payments Area SEPA Coordination Committee, Member of the Bank of Lithuania Board, stressed that by its significance the SEPA Project implemented in Europe might be fully compared to the single currency introduction in the twelve European Union (EU) member states in 2002. According to Mr Vaidievutis GeralaviCius, the public sector stands among other sectors to whom it is important to properly prepare for the implementation of the SEPA Project due to the fact that public sector is making a significant part of payments.

Experts of the Bank of Lithuania, Ministry of Finance and the Association of Lithuanian Banks presented SEPA objectives, scope and terms for the implementation of individual stages of the Project, drew the attention of the public sector representatives on an active SEPA Project political support by the European Commission, European Central Bank, and spoke about the public sector progress in the EU. The seminar participants were informed on how urgent issued related to the creation of the legal environment, to credit transfers, debit transfers, payment cards , infrastructure, information standards and formats, communications associated with SEPA are dealt with in our country.

SEPA is an area in which private customers, companies and other economic entities will be able to pay and receive domestic and cross-border euro payments under the same conditions, rights and obligations regardless of the place of their residence. SEPA covers 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. After payment instruments and processes that accompany them are standardized at the EU level, there will be actually no barriers left between domestic and cross-border payments. Moreover, payment should become cheaper. SEPA benefits will be also experienced by public sector companies.

On the initiative of the Bank of Lithuania, a SEPA Coordination Committee from representatives of commercial banks, foreign bank branches, the Association of Lithuanian Banks and Bank of Lithuania was established. The Committee elaborated and approved the Plan for the Substitution of Payment Instruments by SEPA Payment Tools in Lithuania. Seven working groups were formed to deal with specific issues.

In Lithuania, as in other EU member states, SEPA credit transfers were started from early 2008. Currently, six commercial banks and all foreign bank branches active in the payments market offer a possibility to get SEPA credit transfers. Two banks offer a possibility of initiating SEPA credit transfers, while the remaining banks envisage to be prepared for this by the end of 2009. The majority of Lithuanian banks already now are complying with the SEPA requirements for credit cards, while the rest of them foresee this compliance by the end of 2010.