European Payments Council criticises EC probe into e-payments

The European Payments Council (EPC) has criticised the European Commission's decision to launch an anti-trust probe over concerns that the council's work on standardising payment systems could create competition issues.

The EC said that creating a series of consistent payment systems across the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) risks excluding other companies from providing their own services.

This could lead to increased online payment costs for web merchants, which could force them to raise prices to the detriment of consumers, the EC warned.

However, EPC chairman Gerard Hartsink said that the organisation does not understand the allegations, and will provide all the necessary documentation on its work as it progresses.

"The EPC is continuously providing full and transparent information to all stakeholders, including the EC, on the EPC's activities in the area of online payments," he said.

"The EPC therefore does not support the allegations that the EPC's work could potentially discriminate against new market entrants or other service providers."

Hartsink added that the EC's decision appears to contradict previous calls for such a system, and is hampering the EPC's efforts to meet the original demands.

"The EPC aims to contribute to creating an efficient and secure SEPA payments landscape in line with market needs. Several EU authorities requested that the banking industry produce a model which allows SEPA-wide online payments," he said.

"The EPC requires that the EC aligns its views on the merit of market integration and innovation on the one hand and competition on the other. Inconsistencies between the EC's objectives continue to hamper the SEPA progress."

Despite the EPC stance, the EC said that it has already received a complaint about the EPC's plans on competition grounds, as the e-commerce market continues to increase in importance across the EU.