Swedish banks are in the race to build new technical infrastructure for Bankgirot to meet EU regulations

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By David Brooks

The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (SFSA) has issued an interim injunction to SEB and Bankgirot’s other Swedish owner banks to ensure they comply with the requirements of the EU Electronic Transfers Regulation (WTR) by December 31, 2026.

SEB, together with Bankgirot’s other owning banks, is fully committed to finding a solution and has worked closely with Bankgirot to support the development of new technical infrastructure necessary to ensure WTR compliance. Work to develop this infrastructure is already underway.

Domestic transactions via Bankgirot’s payment infrastructure cannot currently transmit all of the information required by WTR. According to WTR, all domestic transactions must include information about the payer’s and payee’s payment account numbers. To solve the problem, a new technical infrastructure must be implemented. Bankgirot, with the support of its owner banks, has developed a plan to ensure a solution to WTR compliance. The SFSA has been kept informed of the plan and work to implement it is an ongoing, high-priority process.

Swedish banks have previously developed a routine for exchanging information related to WTR through cooperation with the Swedish Banking Association. Banks will continue to use this tool until the new technical infrastructure is in place.

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