Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)

The Single Euro Payments Area allows all consumers, companies and government institutions from any European country to make and receive payments in euros across countries as well as within national borders, based on equal provisions, rights and obligations.

The SEPA is intended to equalise the use of payment instruments (SEPA credit transfers, SEPA card payments and SEPA direct debit payments), specifying that both national and cross-border euro payments must be executed with equal speed, security and simplicity.

SEPA payment standards:

• Payment currency – the euro;
• The payment is sent to a bank in a European Union member country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway or Switzerland;
• The recipient’s account must be in IBAN format;
• The recipient bank’s identification code (SWIFT/BIC) must be specified;
• The payment applicant pays only the commission fee specified by their bank (covered partially);
• The details of the recipient and the recipient bank must be accurate.