Dresdner Kleinwort is SEPA certified

Dresdner Kleinwort, the investment banking division of Dresdner Bank AG, is the first European bank successfully to complete the certification process for SEPA transfers with the European Banking Association (EBA). This means the bank has completed the certification process before the general test phase. In the coming weeks the EBA is due to carry out tests together with various banks in order to ensure that payment transfers within the euro zone can successfully go over to the "Single European Payment Area" (SEPA) at the start of 2008.

"Our early SEPA certification by the EBA is evidence of our leading position in payment transfers", said Stefan Jentzsch, CEO of Dresdner Kleinwort. "We intend to make active use of various opportunities that present themselves over the next few years in order to further increase our market share in payment services", he added.

Dresdner Kleinwort looks after relationships with major internationally active companies as well as other banks and is in charge of the SEPA project on behalf of Dresdner Bank. Dresdner Kleinwort sees the harmonization of payment services as a great opportunity for its clients and is providing significant support for the SEPA process, for example by acting as a pilot bank for the EBA. This was also why it was extremely important to Dresdner Kleinwort to attain SEPA certification as early as possible.

"Our SEPA services represent considerable added value to our customers, as they not only comply with EU regulatory requirements but have also been expanded with so-called value-added services", said Christian Fellner, Head of International Products at Dresdner Kleinwort. He believes that this is important, especially for small and medium-sized banks, which are unwilling to invest in systems of their own.

From January 28, 2008, SEPA standards will become mandatory within the euro zone. This means for example that from 2012 the period within which transfers within the SEPA zone will have to be carried out will be reduced from three days to one day. However, after the EU Payments Services Directive has been implemented, the SEPA direct debit payment will not be available in all European countries before the end of 2009.