Europe's competition commissioner investigates e-payment scheme

European competition regulators have begun investigating whether the European Payment Council’s (EPC) e-payment standardisation process is likely to break antitrust rules by imposing unfair restrictions on new entrants.

The EPC, a banking industry body that oversees payment agreements, is supposed to support and promote integrated payments across the EU, through its Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) project. This initiative has been backed by the EC and is a cornerstone of its efforts to create and sustain a single market for European businesses and consumers.

But EC officials are now concerned that the EPC’s e-payment initiative could spell trouble for new entrants, particularly payment providers that are not banks.

"Use of the internet is increasing rapidly, making the need for secure and efficient online payment solutions in the whole SEPA all the more pressing,” said Joaquín Almunia, EC competition commissioner.

“In principle, standards promote inter-operability and competition, but we need to ensure that the standardisation process does not unnecessarily restrict opportunities for non-participants.”

SEPA’s Highway for E-Payments is meant to standardise e-payments made from current accounts across the EU. The intention is to remove barriers that prevented European consumers from making payments to online vendors not based in their country of residence.

Originally, the EPC proposed standardising on three e-payment systems: giropay, eps and ideal.