Safe transition to SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area)

Complete support in preparing SEPA-compliant solutions

SEPA will introduce uniform procedures and standards, enabling every customer to handle credit transfer, direct debit and card payment transactions in the same way throughout Europe. This harmonization will let bank customers handle all their euro payments via any bank in Eurozone.

Every year, over 230 billion cash and cashless transactions with a total value of 52 trillion euros flow between EU countries. The legal framework for these payment services is based on 25 different national legal systems. One of the results is that companies cannot reconcile their accounts using a standard procedure. From January 1, 2008, uniform rules will apply to B2B payments initially.

The long-term goal of SEPA is to abolish national instruments and procedures. National markets are no longer supposed to be sealed off, giving way to a pan-European payment market with competition throughout Europe.

Wincor Nixdorf provides full and active support for its customers with an overarching range of services and products aimed at preparing and rolling out SEPA-compliant solutions. Wincor Nixdorf has put together a package of consulting and other services and products to support SEPA transactions – all the way from terminal hardware and software to protocols and interfaces to payment systems.

Existing standards (EMV, PIN) and future standards (for example the ISO 20022 messaging standard) have been or will be taken into account and supported. In ProClassic/Enterprise, Wincor Nixdorf has a SEPA Card Acquiring Framework that receives cashless payments via self-service and POS networks, collects the data, and passes it to the payment systems for clearing and settlement via a defined messaging protocol (for example ISO 20022).

As an integrator of cashless payment solutions in retailing and at service stations, Wincor Nixdorf is actively working with other leading European companies on the specification and implementation of interface standards valid throughout SEPA (for example EPAS).