European payments (SEPA)
SEPA payment order allows consumers to send EUR throughout Europe to banks that concluded an agreement regarding SEPA standard payments.
What is SEPA?
SEPA is a Single Euro Payment Area and is based on cooperation between different banking systems of European Union countries using common rules. The settlement system for payments in EUR is dedicated to the financial institutions of the European Union, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco and San Marino. You can make payments between banks that have concluded the contract for realizing payments within this system.
Transactions in EUR
All SEPA transfers within the European Union are carried out in only one currency - EUR.
No maximum limit of transaction value
One of the characteristics of a SEPA transfer is the lack of an upper limit to the transaction amount. The standard does not assume any limitations in this respect, which means that the amount of the transfer can be of any size.
Full transfer amount
The full amount of a transaction is transferred. The amount cannot be decreased by additional fees.
Shared cost option (SHA)
The costs are shared between both parties, i.e. the sender covers their bank's commission and the remaining costs are covered by the recipient.
IBAN Only:
According to this rule, payment service suppliers will not demand a BIC code (identifies payment services suppliers in international settlements) when initiating payments that meet SEPA demands. A unique identifier of the Payment Recipient is his or her account number, which is presented in the IBAN format.
Compare SEPA and SWIFT transfers
| SEPA | SWIFT | |
|---|---|---|
| Currency | EUR | All currencies |
| Area | EU countries, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino. | Worldwide |
| Cost options | SHA | BEN – costs are covered by payment’s reciepient OUR - costs are covered by payment’s sender SHA – costs are shared by sender and recipient |
| Duration | D+1 (money is transferred by the end of the following working day) | D+3 (money is transferred up to three days after the transfer has been commissioned) |
| Established range of transfer costs | 5 PLN | 40-200 PLN |
| Costs of intermediary banks | No costs | Possible costs |
Why SEPA?
SEPA’s purpose is to create a unified payment services market. In this market, consumers and entrepreneurs are able to make payments easily, quickly, safely and at the same cheap cost as in their countries-of-origin. SEPA impacts each payment in EUR within the European Union. In this way, it contributes to the creation of a homogeneous market for payment services. This is an area in which citizens, entrepreneurs and other economic entities are able to make, as well as receive, payments in EUR throughout Europe (internationally as well) with the same simple rules, legal regulations and obligations, and regardless of citizenship status.