Impact of the implementation of the SEPA Project on SMEs

Abstract

SEPA – Single European Payments Area is a project that has been running since 2002 in the European Economic Area (hereinafter "EEA") and Switzerland and concerns the rationalisation of domestic and cross-border payments services. It has been implemented by banks and other entities, providing the service of domestic and cross-border payments, and it is used by entities who are clients of the stated institutions. This paper will use the method of induction and analysis to point out the potential consequences of its implementation for the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises (hereinafter "SMEs") in the Czech Republic (hereinafter "the CR"). A hypothesis was formed, based on an assumption that "wide-spread application of the SEPA project will simplify, and make cheaper, cross-national payments in particular for the SME segment in the long term".