For consumers it will be possible in the future to make international online payments using their usual online banking facilities

Amsterdam, 14 February 2011 - Three e-payment schemes, eps e-payment standard (Austria), giropay (Germany) and iDEAL (Netherlands) have started working together on the development of interoperability in the European (SEPA) market. The agreed objective is to create an open infrastructure where a consumer in one European country can pay online/real-time a web-retailer in another European country for ordered goods and services, using his usual online banking facilities.

Piet Mallekoote CEO of iDEAL stated that “the fast growing e-commerce has created a strong demand for a trusted, reliable and safe e-payment method in a competitive environment, where already other payment methods are being offered to web-retailers and consumers.”

Currently several national e-payment schemes are successfully operating in a national environment. In order to meet market demands for online payments in a more European market, three existing e-payment schemes decided to co-operate on the development of interoperability. Robert Reiger, CEO of eps, acknowledged that there is a time pressure on this development. “There is always the risk of being late and losing your market position. We have to act now.”

In order to create a common and open way of interoperability the three e-payment schemes are investigating, via a Proof of Concept, how a standardised way of making a guaranteed e-payment from a consumer to a web- merchant can be carried out, using open standards for messages and for the content of the messages. In addition, security, legal and operating matters are being examined on the level of interoperability. “It is a complex project. We have to upgrade all kind of commonly used national elements to a level that enables interoperability”, says Darius Metzner, CTO/CLO of giropay.

The Proof of Concept is due for completion by the end of March 2011. The European banking industry is directly and closely involved via the European Payments Council. EPC and the three schemes have signed a Memorandum of Understanding* to the extent that the three schemes will – in their Proof of Concept – test the Interoperability Framework developed by EPC and propose improvements where appropriate. EPC will then take these suggestions into consideration and adopt a first version of the SEPA ePayments framework this summer.

Both the banking industry (EPC) and the involved e-Payment Schemes are due to align their work in progress in such a way that from July 2011 on, existing and new schemes can start their implementations of the defined standards to achieve operational interoperability as soon as possible for the benefit of the
e-commerce market.

* Article Memorandum of Understanding