European payment processor Equens is to offer a number of services to the Dutch business community.
In doing so, Equens is responding to growing demand among businesses for support with the migration to SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area).
As from 1 February 2014, payment products in Europe will be harmonised, creating a single and uniform payments area. In order to be compliant, every company that makes or receives payments must implement changes in its processes and systems. The latest SEPA Monitor survey results of the Dutch Central Bank show that many businesses have yet to choose how they will make the mandatory changes. Through its many years of experience with payments, Equens has acquired extensive expertise. Over the course of these many years, it has, for instance, emerged that the use of standards helps to reduce costs and complexity. For this reason, Equens' new services are a reliable and solid alternative for businesses.
The new service Zakelijk Betalen en Ontvangen [Business Payments & Receipt] currently consists of three separate solutions that businesses can purchase either individually or as a package. The first of these services, Transactie Aanlevering [Transaction Delivery], enables businesses to send transactions to one or more banks via Equens. Rekening- en Verwerkingsinformatie [Account & Processing Information], the second of the services, complies with SEPA standards, and is on a par with the trusted VerwInfo report. The advantage of this is that businesses do not need to make any changes to their systems, and can continue using the same VerwInfo report they have become accustomed to for their internal processing and payments. This limits costs and simplifies migration. Now that the market-wide SEPA migration is nearing, demand for this service seems to be increasing. The third and final service is Formaat Conversie [Format Conversion]. With the introduction of this service, the current ClieOp format for transfers and debits will be converted to the new SEPA format, 'pain'.
The launch dates for the three services will be announced shortly, and will coincide as closely as possible with the Netherlands' National SEPA Migration Plan.