If you are unaware, a book has just been released by our good friend Ruth Wandhofer on the Payment Services Directive titled: EU Payments Integration - the Tale of SEPA, PSD and Other Milestones Along the Road.

Ruth is well known in the payments industry for her in-depth knowledge of the regulatory, market and competitive landscape in Europe and in particular as one of the foremost authorities on SEPA and the PSD. She is responsible for Market Policy and Strategy within the EMEA Global Transaction Services business of Citi and holds a number of senior external positions in the industry.

Here's the write-up of the book and you can order it here:

The Payment Services Directive (PSD) stands out as a hugely ambitious and strategically important regulatory intervention in the financial services arena. It is the legal lifeblood which is expected to sustain the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and the broader integration of the EU payments market.

This book provides an insider’s view of the forces which have shaped SEPA and the PSD, written from the unique perspective of someone closely involved throughout the whole process. It uncovers the strategic, legal and practical implications of the full harmonisation agenda and provides an assessment of where these initiatives stand today. Furthermore, it explores parallel developments in other areas around the world that have been inspired by the European experiment.

Essential reading for all those involved in, or studying, the evolution of the European and global payment markets – and more generally for anyone interested in a topical and lively case study of EU integration and law-making in action.

People who like the book:

‘I very much welcome this timely and informative contribution to the debate on the integration of the Euro payments market.’ — Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, Member of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board

‘We are at a critical point in the evolution of the European payments landscape. This book comes at the right time to address the key strategic issues for the payments industry in Europe and in a broader global context.’ — Gerard Hartsink, Chair of the European Payments Council

CONTENTS:

Foreword by Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell
Title I – The Opening Act: The beginning of the end … or just the end of the beginning?
Title II – EU Financial Regulation Explained: The Powers and the Pitfalls
Title III – SEPA: A reaction to EU Regulatory Activism: A New Hope
Title IV – PSD – a Parallel Universe to SEPA: The Odyssey from the First Beginnings to the Final Text
Title V – From Publication to Transposition - The Directive Dilemma: The Road to Nowhere
Title VI – SEPA: From Design to Launch: Finding Your Way through the SEPA Jungle
Title VII – Postlude: The Future

Oh, and if that's not enough, here's another book on the PSD and SEPA:

The Future of Finance After SEPA

by Chris Skinner 

SEPA was created by Europe’s banks in 2002 in response to regulations and plans drawn up by the European Commission from a meeting in Lisbon at the turn of the millennium. Consequently, SEPA has been assisted by new legislation, the PSD, which was agreed in 2007. The implementation of SEPA takes place in 2008 within the banking industry, with full operation in 2010, and will be a massive change to not just banking, but all aspects of finance and financial services across Europe and the globe.

This is because the vision for SEPA is that, by 2010, all euro payments are treated in the same way as domestic payments. In other words, European citizens and corporations enjoy a transparent market where there is no difference in charges for payments between Rome, Madrid, Paris and Munich. As a result, citizens, governments and corporations will have full access to finance transparently across 15 countries today and potentially 31 tomorrow. A United States of Europe, fuelled by fully integrated financing, will be different to the fragmented Europe of the past.

This book reviews the key implications and challenges of SEPA and the PSD across the European landscape, and the likely outcomes of SEPA for 2010 and beyond. The main themes that emerge are that many of Europe’s leading providers of payments infrastructures, which are often bankowned, will disappear and new payments providers and structures will emerge. Some of these will be evolutions and some will be revolutions. In addition, there will be major impacts upon those banks that cannot provide euro–services competitively in this new geographically competitive environment. The winners will reap major rewards, but there will be far more losers who will be merged or acquired.

With contributions from leading authorities, including:

• Anthony Kirby, the Reference Data User Group
• Ashley Dowson, the SEPA Consultancy
• Bo Harald, TietoEnator
• Bodil Nelsson and Mats Wallén, Bankgirocentralen
• Brenda O’Connell, Bank of Ireland
• Chris Pickles, BT
• Chris Skinner, the Financial Services Club and Balatro
• Daniel Szmukler, EBA CLEARING
• Daniele Danese, Banca Popolare di Verona
• David Doyle, EU Policy Advisor on Financial Markets
• Doctor John Ryan, CASS Business School
• Erkki Poutiainen, Nordea
• Eva King, the European Commission
• Geoffroy de Schrevel, SWIFT
• Gerard Hartsink, the European Payments Council
• Gianfranco Tabasso, the European Association of Corporate Treasurers
• Harry Leinonen, the Bank of Finland
• Heiko Schmiedel, the European Central Bank
• Henrik Parl, Eurogiro
• Hervé Postic, founder, UTSIT
• James Barclay, JPMorgan Chase
• John Bullard, IdenTrust
• John Chaplin, First Data
• Jonathan Williams, Experian Payments
• Juergen Weiss, Gartner
• Mark Hale, Barclays Bank
• Neil Burton, IBM
• Nick Senechal, VocaLink
• René Pelegero, PayPal
• Richard Spong, Sterling Commerce
• Robert Bradfield, Ernst & Young
• Ruth Wandhöfer, Citi
• Sean Fitzgerald, Sentinel
• Sharon Bowles, Member of the European Parliament
• Tom Buschman, TWIST