BRUSSELS — EUFISERV Payments announced today that the separation of the EUFISERV ATM Scheme from EUFISERV's former processing business is now complete, and is in line with the SEPA requirements of the European Central Bank and the European Commission.
According to a news release, since it began in 1990, the scheme has been owned and managed by EUFISERV — a combined scheme and processing business. At the end of last year, before the agreement between EUFISERV and First Data Corp., the EUFISERV scheme was spun-off from EUFISERV into a new company — EUFISERV Payments. The new company's shareholders include major European banks and bank-owned organizations.
The EUFISERV ATM Scheme provides access to cash to more than 67 million cardholders. EUFISERV branded cards are issued by more than 600 participating European banks and are accepted at 68,000 branded EUFISERV ATMs across Europe. It is the only European scheme in operation today.
Since the spin-off, the new company has carried out a thorough overhaul of the governance arrangements and scheme rules. EUFISERV Payments and the EUFISERV Scheme are now fully SEPA compliant, and the scheme is completely independent of processors, including Trionis — the new name for the former EUFISERV processing business.
"We have worked hard to do what is required for SEPA," said Wolfgang Adamiok, chairman of EUFISERV Payments and head of card strategies at the German Savings Banks Association. "This work assures continuity of service to our participating banks, as well of course, to cardholders. EUFISERV Payments and its shareholders fully support the SEPA project."
In further anticipation of SEPA, EUFISERV Payments is taking a number of initiatives aimed at expanding the service it offers to its members, as well as members of other schemes. Already scheme members in Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal accept German debit cards under a bilateral agreement with the German scheme. Other members are expected to follow. And developments are underway to make similar agreements with other schemes for mutual acceptance of each other's cards.
Additionally, EUFISERV Payments is a founding shareholder in the Euro Alliance of Payment Schemes, which will extend the scheme beyond its current footprint.
"As well as cooperating with other schemes and alliances for mutual acceptance, the EUFISERV Scheme — as a SEPA-compliant scheme — is open to banks and other financial institutions to join directly as members," said John Ormerod, general manager of EUFISERV Payments. "We can offer new members an attractive proposition for their ATM business as well as service to their cardholders."
