EurActiv ‘Special Week’ coverage on the Payment Services Directive and the Single Euro Payment Area

EurActiv, the independent media portal specialised in EU policies, will be running special coverage next week on the move towards a harmonised payment system in the European Union. 

There are still large differences between national payment systems in Europe. The EU is seeking to remove these obstacles and reduce the cost of cross-border and domestic payments for consumers by putting in place a Payment Services Directive (PSD). The PSD is intended to clear the way for the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) – a system of standardised electronic payments across the EU.

The special coverage will take place from 25-29 January and will take stock of where Europe stands in setting up these new mechanisms. 

Issues to be addressed will range from the plans of new EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier to privacy and data protection in the banking sector, the mobile payments market and the race for new SEPA-compliant credit and payment (debit) cards.

The coverage will feature in EurActiv’s financial services section, which is made available free-of-charge in three languages, thanks to the support of Visa Europe:

English: www.euractiv.com/en/financial-services 

French: www.euractiv.com/fr/services-financiers 

German: http://www.euractiv.com/de/finanzdienstleistungen 

The section already features useful background reading on financial services and the move towards a single payment area. These include policy briefings (or ‘LinksDossiers’) on the following subjects:

The Payment Services Directive [DE] 

The Single Euro Payment Area [FR] [DE] 

Media contacts:

Frédéric Simon, Editor, Tel. +32(0)2.788.36.78, editor2@euractiv.com

Daniela Vincenti-Mitchener, Managing Editor, Tel. +32(0)2.788.36.69, news@euractiv.com 

Christophe Leclercq, Publisher, EurActiv.com, Tel. +32(0)2.226.58.13, publisher@euractiv.com

Note to the editor: 

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