Q: For a firm such as Leroy-Merlin, what are the issues and benefits linked to SEPA? How do you stand vis-à-vis this project?
We especially cover several countries of the SEPA area (France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Poland, etc.), through one or several brands (Leroy-Merlin, Bricoman, Zodio, Kbane, Weldom, Bricocenter, Aki,…). Therefore, to us, what is at stake with SEPA are clearly the benefits associated to the harmonisation or homogenisation of each of its components: systems, equipment, fees, governance, common ergonomics...
To us, the objectives of SEPA are clear. We see at least three of them:
- make the "customer path" of a customer from a SEPA-country the same wherever he is ;
- improve the purchasing power of clients living in a SEPA-country, in particular thanks to increased competition between European payment services providers ;
- create payment systems capable of competing with the other international models, be they American or Asian.
SEPA will only be beneficial for Leroy-Merlin if it is beneficial for our customers themselves so that they can demonstrate their confidence.
We are therefore naturally highly involved in the SEPA project and I represent Leroy-Merlin in several working groups of the French national SEPA Committee, the French Association of Corporate treasurers and Mercatel.
Q: What work have you already done about SEPA? Did you set a roadmap or an implementation schedule?
Leroy-Merlin has only considered the preparation to the SEPA Credit Transfer yet (we are very little concerned by the SEPA Direct Debit). Regarding the SEPA Cards Framework, we await clarification from French banks and the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires "CB".
With regard to the SEPA Credit Transfer, we already got the BIC and IBAN from our employees. We will migrate our wages and bonus credit transfers during the first quarter 2009. This represents about 400,000 SEPA Credit Transfers in 2009.
As for our credit transfers to suppliers (more than a million per year, for more than 2 billion euros), we are awaiting from our banking partners a solution which will guarantee both a conversion of the RIB (French national bank identifiers) to BIC and IBAN for a reasonable cost and above all the successful completion of our operations.
Q: To you, what are the conditions to make SEPA a success?
To make SEPA a success, the conditions are simple: we must achieve its objectives. Harmonisation of systems and rules, homogenisation of equipments, transparency and sincerity of governance, simple and homogeneous ergonomics… In short, all what SEPA wants to promote.