SEPA aims to realise a Europe-wide single market in non-cash bulk payment transactions. Cross-border credit transfers, direct debits and card payments are to become just as efficient, inexpensive and secure as national payments. It has been possible to make SEPA credit transfers since January 2008 and SEPA direct debits since November 2009. At the moment, however, the SEPA format is only being used for one in thirteen credit transfers. The European Commission has decided to intervene by means of a regulation that sets an end-date for the parallel operation of national systems and the new SEPA system. Both the German government and the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbz) consider the final migration of national account numbers and sort codes to IBAN and BIC to be asking too much of consumers. But what is truly unbearable is that a speedy changeover is being prevented by the protracted process... [more]

The goal of this study is to shed light on Chinese consumers’ evolution and behaviour as well as on the composition of this heterogeneous group. China’s urban consumers are growing in number and in spending power, and their outlook is promising. On the other hand, the potential of rural consumers must still be developed, and their income gap with the urban counterparts narrowed. Policies to support income growth, increase disposable income, and help households grow their wealth are starting to be implemented. These policies, coupled with China’s attractive long-term growth prospects, bode well for China’s consumers, who in a few decades could turn out to be the world economy’s key growth driver. [more]