A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum

Blogging from Rome at the annual EBAday conference, a European payments forum organised by Finextra and the Euro Banking Association. Delegates attending the show are looking for guidance and insight as the deadlines loom for the creation of a Single Euro Payments Area (Sepa).

Sepa was the big draw at last year's inaugural show in Frankfurt and the technology  vendors attending the event were none too impressed by their exclusion from the big picture discussions by the banking community at large. So, for this year's EBAday we've invited the vendor community into the fold and onto the podium to share their views on progress to Sepa alongside their banking clients.

Given the conversations I've had on the fringes of the conference with key vendors this should make for some interesting debate. As one prominent supplier to the banking industry told me in a taxi this morning: "The banking industry is in complete denial about Sepa and its implications. They won't take too kindly to being told that the baby is ugly."

There should be some fun and games ahead. I'll keep you posted.