Pan-European Automated Clearing House Explained

A pan-European automated clearing house (PE-ACH) is a clearing house that is able to settle SEPA compliant credit transfers and direct debits across the Eurozone.

At present there is only one PE-ACH in operation – STEP2 – which was established by the Euro Banking Association in April 2003. STEP2 reaches all corners of SEPA, processing over 22 Billion transactions per year (as of 2023). The Pan-European Clearing House plays an important role in connecting local clearing houses and minimising risks of fragmentation.

According to a survey done by Equens, in the future PE-ACH might be less relevant as banks will settle their transactions via multiple clearing houses^[1] rather than using one central clearing house.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Syrbe . Benjamin . European Trend Survey 'Banks & Future' . dead . https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michal-Polasik/publication/286450657_European_Trend_Survey_BANKS_FUTURE_2012_Trends_and_Developments_in_the_European_Payments_Market/links/566a091808aea0892c49db75/European-Trend-Survey-BANKS-FUTURE-2012-Trends-and-Developments-in-the-European-Payments-Market.pdf?origin=publication_detail&_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uRG93bmxvYWQiLCJwcmV2aW91c1BhZ2UiOiJwdWJsaWNhdGlvbiJ9fQ&__cf_chl_tk=rqlpzV8iJ_KxwSTeAUV9Olk.pmi1BJcYMc.yR8M3G80-1736785043-1.0.1.1-E6ddCxH6JkHOgYL9VYaCC.6UULzhIkzohNpobuI_0YU . 2012-01-31 . 2013-10-15 . Equens whitepaper . Equens.