ABI is focused on retail payment system market trends working to promote the relationship between Banking Industry and Retail customer analysing customers requirements and developing initiatives to define new business model and legal environment.
The aim is to guarantee:
• common rules and infrastructure for bank interoperability;
• the effectiveness and efficiency of the current interbank procedures;
• the development of value added services to satisfy customer’s needs;
• the improvement of customers knowledge on payment service features.
In particular today, ABI and PattiChiari Consortium, are working on initiatives related to bank account switching services; the above mentioned initiatives allow retail customer to switch his payments relationship from one bank (the “former” bank) to another (the “new” bank) in which he holds or opens a bank account.
ABI defines the legal environment and the common infrastructure that all the Italian banks must use to offer switching facilities to their customers according to the following common principle:
• consumer can use the “new’ bank” as single point of contact and can requests the switching service subscribing a standard application form ;
• the banking system carry out all necessary activities for the switching process;
• Banks manage the switching through an interbank electronic procedure in accordance with a maximum assigned timeline;
• new account details are communicated to the third parties involved in the switching process (ex. direct debit or credit transfer originator) by banks.
In February 2007 ABI and Consorzio Pattichiari launched the “standard direct debits switching service” (RID switching service) and now they are developing other initiatives related to bank account switching services:
• switching service for credit transfer – the initiative, which will be launched during the second half of 2008, allows the customer to move all credit transfers – recurrent or not (included salaries and pensions) - on a new bank account. This service includes a “credit transfer re-routing”: the old bank must re-route to the new bank all credit transfers received during the 12 months following the switch date;
• switching service for further direct debits – the initiative is focused on the possibility to move automatically on a new account further direct debit (no RID - no debited by banks through the interbank RID procedure) related to mortgages, credit card payments or loans.