SEPA is 'incomplete' - Thank God For EBICS then.

At the Payment Markets Insight into Central and Eastern Europe panel discussion at this week's EBADay in Vienna I did not expect to hear a (minor) diss to the mighty Swift.

Hermann Fürstenau, sales manager, at PPI AG extrolled the virtues of the Electronic Banking Internet Comunications Standard (EBICS to those are are required to comply).

Sepa is said was "incomplete" and held up a slide showing a container ship marked 'Sepa' being held afloat by a hull marked 'EBICS'.

In terms of standards and the embrace of Sepa across Europe, "the default could be Swift" said Fürstenau, but "it could also be EBICS."

The EBICS forte is to be a data file exchange independent of message standards and formats using established digital signature and encryption procedures. Its features are based on international standards for internet communication and improved security (XML, https as well as TLS and SSL).

EBICS is compatible with international standards. Fürstenau ended his panel dicussion by saying that EBICS consequently has the potential to become a European standard.