Hansabankas offers faster and more convenient European payments services for Hansabankas customers
2008-01-30 Back
Hansabankas is one of the first banks in this country to have joined, together with the majority of leading and largest European banks, the single Euro payments area. Starting from this week, Hansabankas customers will be able to faster, simpler and more conveniently receive from and/or transfer funds to banks belonging to this area, called Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).
SEPA includes all EU Member States, as well as Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. All customers and companies operating in the said area can now effect payments according to uniform terms and rights.
European banks started joining SEPA from on 28 January 2008. Swedbank is entering into this project as a whole financial group which includes Hansabankas too. The majority of banks belonging to the European Economic Community are anticipated to join SEPA by year-end 2010.
Says Ramunas Strauka, Director of Electronic Banking Department: "Although Lithuania has not yet adopted the Euro and implementation of SEPA standards is not yet obligatory to Hansabankas, our Bank decided to invest into introduction of SEPA standards sooner than later and provide our customers with new possibilities of transferring and receiving of European payments effected under SEPA standards".
The joining of SEPA has created conditions for the designing of a new EUR-denominated credit payment service, European payment. Besides, the new payment framework establishes a clear/transparent scheme and structure of fees charged for European payments, streamlines corporate identity items (that are required to be indicated in payment documents) and reduces their number, speeds up payment transactions, ensures guaranteed crediting of payees’ accounts, sets down clear terms of return of transferred funds (if necessary) and allows to indicate additional information in payment orders/instructions. In addition, SEPA requirements for security of microchip-based card transactions envisage issuance of standard (uniform) "smart" cards and confirmation of cards transactions by PIN.
All Hansabankas-issued payment cards are already in conformity with these SEPA requirements and standards.
In the future, SEPA will launch an international debit payment facility too which is expected to streamlines recurrent payments for various services.
