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Challenges to achieving operational excellence, particularly in Europe

Bob Lyddon, Managing Director, IBOS Association


Abstract
This article investigates the interconnection of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) with ISO 20022, and the objective of migrating the payments market off SWIFT MT globally, and off-legacy national data formats in Europe, onto the ISO 20022 ‘standard’. Readers need to appreciate the reasons for the slow take-up of ISO 20022 and for the slow progress towards SEPA, and how an acceleration of the process via the setting of a mandatory end date for migration could backfire. The SEPA frameworks contain many safety valves through which national variations can persist. The environment is becoming increasingly complex and nuanced, with reducing income and new competition. Readers will be able to see the European Commission’s long-term aims in the context of these developments and all the better appreciate the disconnects in the process — disconnects that will complicate the achievement of operational excellence in the payments business.

Keywords
SEPA, SWIFT MX, ISO 20022, SWIFT migration, SMED


Bob Lyddon is the coordinator of the IBOS International Cash Management network from its London office. The two pillars of the office’s activities are supporting sales and implementation efforts of the IBOS proposition by the sales teams in the 31 member banks in 28 countries, and agreeing what products will be offered collectively by the member banks, drafting specifications and supporting roll-out and management in-production. In parallel, Bob has a private consultancy and training practice focusing on Single Euro Payments Area, Payment Services Directive and international banking services. In that role, Bob delivers the UK ACT’s Advanced Cash Management training. Until 2000, Bob was a Principal in the Strategic Change Management Consulting practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers. In a banking career over 17 years, Bob was latterly Director of European Cash Management at BankBoston, where he designed of the Connector multibank payments network.


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