Issuance of Regulation on Payment Operations (SEPA)

The Central Bank of the Republic of San Marino announces the issuance of Regulation No. 2024-04 on payment transactions (SEPA), which will come into effect on December 1, 2024.

As already clarified during the public consultation, this regulation, through the replacement of Regulation No. 2013-05 "Entry into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)" and the modification of Regulation No. 2020-04 "of payment services and issuance of electronic money", respectively:

(a) updates the sector's regulation with the integrations introduced by Regulation (EU) 886/2024 on instant credit transfers (transfers to be executed within a few seconds, 24/7, and on any calendar day), and Regulation (EU) 1230/2021, which replaces and repeals Regulation (EC) 924/2009 on cross-border payments;

b) continues the alignment with the so-called PSD2, in accordance with Decree No. 177/2018, including, among other things, a specific prohibition on beneficiaries imposing charges on payers for using payment cards, as is already the case for credit transfers and direct debits.

As a result of the consultation process, the text of the Regulation has undergone minor amendments, such as:

• the introduction of a paragraph in Article 4, acknowledging the special legal regime for receipts related to the Single Treasury Service (Law No. 35/1993 and Decree No. 53/2003);
• the inclusion in the definition of "targeted financial restrictive measures" referring to specific national legislative sources (Decree-Law No. 41/2022 and Law No. 57/2019);
• the introduction of a paragraph in Article 22 that, for payment institutions and Electronic Money Institutions (EMI), postpones the deadline for offering payment services for receiving and sending instant credit transfers to April 9, 2027, in line with the special transitional regime defined in Regulation (EU) 886/2024. For banks, the previously established deadlines remain in place (January 9, 2025, and October 9, 2025, respectively).