Stewart MacKinnon, Secretary General of the European Payments Council, and Norbert Bielefeld, Deputy Director, Payments and Securities at the European Savings Banks Group in Belgium will be the two main speakers at a national conference on “Making the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) a reality in Malta”.

The conference will be held at the Malta Hilton on 26 October, and is being organised by the Central Bank of Malta, the Malta Bankers’ Association and the Financial Services Economic Group of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise.

Mr MacKinnon will give an in-depth overview of what the Single Euro Payments Area project is all about and how this will streamline payments in euro all over Europe. In his delivery, Mr MacKinnon will explain how SEPA will be harmonising millions of everyday “retail” payments and how this programme, which is supported by Europe’s banks, should lead to the strengthening of the internal market, the enhancement of competition, improved efficiency and more economic prosperity.

Norbert Bielefeld will speak about the Payment Services Directive and how this will apply to all payment services, retail or corporate, and whether in euro or any other currency of an EU Member State. Once it is transcribed into national law, the Directive will affect all payments within the 27 Member States of the EU, irrespective of currency or transaction value, and whether it is affected by card or any other form of electronic means of payment.

For further information or to book a place at the national conference on “Making the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) a reality in Malta” call the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise on telephone number 2123-3873 or e-mail [email protected].