According to finextra, Mr Javier Perez, president, MasterCard Europe is quoted as saying : "The single euro payments area may currently be a term recognised in finance circles, but what the man-on-the-street needs to know is that they can use their debit card in the same way anywhere in Europe as in their own country"

I am a MasterCard user, my country of issue is UK but I travel in the Euroland a lot. I pay no debit card transaction or ATM fees in the UK. I have a question for Mr Perez. Will I be able to use my debit card in say France or Germany or Netherlands etc without any additional charges applied?  The answer probably is no, because UK is not in the Eurozone. Yes ...but whilst it is true that UK has stayed out of Euroland  (thank god some might say) the MasterCard community will still benefit from my MasterCard use no matter where in Europe I use it so it is only be fair that I too should enjoy the benfits of SEPA. 

Funny thing is that as a UK cardholder you can already use your UK debit card with no additional fees in many places throughout the world- not just Euroland. All you need is a laptop and internet access!!!!!!!!