Deutsche Bank launches eSupplyChainHub to support e-invoicing roaming in Europe
Deutsche Bank announced the launch of eSupplyChainHub, a new clearing house facility for electronic invoice processing in Europe.
This new platform, which forms part of the Bank’s db financial supply chain solutions, offers any Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment (EIPP) providers a fast and efficient file transfer service that enables them to reach all other roaming partners via a unique and secure interface. With eSupplyChainHub, Deutsche Bank will essentially act as a consolidator for EIPP providers and facilitate the roaming of e-invoices across all their networks. The service will initially go live in Germany, but has been designed for an international roll-out.
Source: Deutsche Bank
Electronic invoicing and payments: Roadmap for the Region of Puglia
The Lab completed an extensive study that shed light on the potential benefits of invoicing and payment automation, presenting a roadmap for the Region of Puglia which identified the advantages of such developments starting from a single company, to its supply chain and, finally, to the whole regional economy.
EBL developed an Impact Assessment Model which goes beyond the analysis of the process automation and takes into account the impact of those initiatives on the companyʼs working capital and its liquidity, a critical factor in the current market conditions. The Roadmap for Impact Assessment starts from a basic model of savings from adopting e-invoicing and payments. This is applied in a greater context of the entire financial supply chain, client to cash cycle and the cash conversion cycle with increasing benefits defined within each larger context. Going outside the specific definition of a company, the model explores how adoption impacts opportunities among supplier groups, the vertical industry supply chain, dynamic networks and, finally, the economy of Puglia, overall.
The data used for the study has been gathered through direct interviews, online surveys and case studies carried out with companies located in the Region of Puglia, in the first quarter 2010. Benefits are estimated at 3.5 billion euro, i.e. 4.9% GDP of the Region. The results show that for invoice automation, 36% of the savings derive from outbound invoices, while 64% from automating the receipt side of the invoicing process.
In particular, annual savings from complete automation of the invoicing process are estimated at 709 million euro, while the potential benefits derived from the use of online payments are of 932 million euro. Moreover, when automating the invoice-to-payment process there would be a dramatic reduction of errors and non-conformities which would result in an estimated 948 million euro in savings. In terms of working capital and liquidity, sending e-invoices daily, or in real time, would unlock 666 million euro, yearly.
The results of the study were discussed with local business leaders during an EBL conference, held in Bari, and hosted by Confindustria, on March 15, 2010. Experts of the European Commission, the Italian Tax Agency and the Italian Banking Association attended as speakers.
Commission consultation shows general support for end-date for SEPA migration
The European Commission has published the results of a public consultation launched in June 2009 on whether and how deadlines should be set for the migration of existing national credit transfers and direct debits to the new Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) payment instruments. Respondents generally expressed support for fixing at EU level a deadline for the full migration to SEPA. The Commission will discuss this matter with Member States before taking a decision on how best to proceed. Read more
Payment Services Directive: implementation guidance for banks
The European Banking Federation, on August 2009 , published the document ‘Guidance for the implementation of the Payment Services Directive’.
This document constitutes practical PSD implementation guidance for banks and is intended to provide high level assistance in relation to both the interpretation and practical application of the PSD. The document does not aim to be exhaustive in the list of topics it addresses, but rather focuses on specific issues that have been the subject of discussion during the course of the work and/or related to frequently asked questions from the market.
http://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/documents/Brochure-%2024-08-09-PSD-Web.pdf
Source: European Payment Council
SEPA: potential benefits at stake
A study* by Capgemini commissioned by the European Commission, analyses the potential benefits of SEPA for different European stakeholders.
The objective of the study is to identify the barriers to overcome and what incentives, or policies are needed to reap the full benefits of SEPA. The study describes four potential post-SEPA market scenarios, based on a supply/demand model, where the demand side includes consumers, SMEs, merchants, corporates and public entities, and the supply side is mainly represented by banks. Read more
Transposition of the Payment Services Directive
The European Commission has created a specific channel to address questions relating the Payment Services Directive and its transposition into national law.
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/framework/transposition_en.htm
A detailed overview of the current PSD transposition in EU Member States is also provided:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/docs/framework/transposition/plans_en.pdf
The Commission has already provided over 200 responses to questions received, which are publicly available:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/docs/framework/transposition/faq-2009_06_08_en.pdf
Payment system End-User Committee (UEC): SEPA position paper
Leading European business and consumer organisations joined forces to spell out key issues relating the development of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in a position paper, published on July 2009. The position paper outlines the major problems hampering the adoption of SEPA and focuses on the SEPA Direct Debit, its current issues and possible solutions to address them. Read more
EC Payment Systems Market Expert Group
The Commission set up a Payment Systems Market Expert Group (PSMEG), in April 2009, to assist in the preparation of its policy in the field of payments. Fifty members have been appointed by the Commission further to a call for application, representing different stakeholders. The first meeting took place in Brussels on 10th of June 2009.
The Payment Systems Market Expert Group has the following mission:
• to assist the Commission in the preparation of legislative acts or policy initiatives on payment systems;
• to provide insight on the practical implementation of these policies; to exchange views on the latest best practices; and
• to ensure monitoring of potential issues of concern to the market.
“In the area of payments, and particularly in the context of SEPA, we have a growing need for regular and high-level stakeholder input at the earliest stage of our policy-making..” stated Charlie McCreevy, Internal Market and Services Commissioner.
Practical implications of the Payment Services Directive
On 24 April 2007, the European Parliament adopted the proposal for the Payment Services Directive (PSD). The Member States should transpose the Directive as early as possible into national law, 1 November 2009 at the latest.
The PSD is mandatory for all euro-area 13 countries, for the new Member States when they join the Euro and, for EU Nations outside the euro area; a voluntary alignment is offered to EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Switzerland has joined SEPA, despite not being a member of EU/EEA.
The effects of the Directive will be different for each European country, but there are common key implications to consider. Read more
SEPA Consultation
The European Commission launched on 8th June 2009 a consultation on whether and how deadlines should be set for SEPA Migration. The consultation is open until 3 August 2009.
All stakeholders are invited to provide input and, in particular, the supply side (banking and payment industry) and the demand side (corporates, SMEs, consumer organisations) of the payment market and public authorities.
The consultation document is available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/sepa/ec_en.htm
The result of this consultation will provide the European Commission with a more comprehensive view of stakeholders’ positions. Depending on the results, political endorsement and, if necessary, a legislative proposal could be formulated.
