The European Payments Council (EPC) has abandoned further developments of the draft SEPA e-Payment Framework, together with any related standardisation initiative.

Prepare for changes in the Payments market
- ESG
- E-commerce
- Mobile payments
- Alternative payment rails (Real-Time Payments, Blockchain, BNPL)
- Fraud & Cybersecurity
- Regulations
The EPC said the decision reflected the need to launch a wider debate with all stakeholders on how to create a secure SEPA online payment environment.
The announcement follows an investigation initiated by the European Commission in September 2011 that considered whether the standardisation of online payments could alienate new entrants or service providers from the e-payments market.
As a result of the investigation, the EPC suspended all activities related to the draft SEPA e-Payment Framework, including the plan to launch a public consultation on it.
The EPC said following further analysis of applicable legal regimes, it concluded that there are significant challenges to any initiative to develop an interoperability framework for secure SEPA-wide online payment solutions in a way that meets the interests of all stakeholders.
The draft framework aimed to support SEPA-wide interoperability between existing and new e-payment schemes that rely on SEPA credit transfers, in the light of harmonisation and security concerns among European Union authorities and e-merchants for the banking industry.

Prepare for changes in the Payments market
- ESG
- E-commerce
- Mobile payments
- Alternative payment rails (Real-Time Payments, Blockchain, BNPL)
- Fraud & Cybersecurity
- Regulations