Euro-denominated direct debits and credit transfers within the eurozone will have to comply with the European regulation on the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) by 1 February 2014.

The regulation aims to harmonise the euro payments systems used in the 33 European countries making up the SEPA area. It does so by establishing the same execution rules and standards, thus eliminating differences between cross-border and domestic payments in euro. Regarding the SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT), most of the transfers made from Luxembourg already meet these standards. By contrast, migration of the national direct debit system to SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) is nowhere near complete.

Given the major impacts involved, BGL BNP Paribas has introduced a range of tools for informing individuals and businesses and helping them migrate to the SDD. In addition to online management tools, information brochures and dedicated web pages on www.bgl.lu, the bank is also offering business customers a personalised support service and a specialised team trained to field technical queries.

The commercial and technical issues behind the SEPA switch are important to businesses, which have to migrate to SDD before 1 February 2014 if they want to continue receiving payments by direct debit. Regulatory compliance aside, however, the SDD transition is also an opportunity to optimise euro-denominated payment flows, both in Luxembourg and throughout the SEPA area. But adjustments to IT systems and processes can take time.

For this reason, as the leading bank for businesses in Luxembourg, BGL BNP Paribas continues to offer SEPA workshops to any company wanting to get to grips with the subject and migrate to the new system in the remaining months. Free of charge, the workshops tackle the practical aspects of SEPA, such as technical rules, the channels (MultiLine) and time limits for sending files to the bank, the description of formats, and the overall migration scenario for Luxembourg.

To get more information or sign up for a workshop, click here: www.bgl.lu/sdd