Guide & ressources

SEPA 101

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) simplifies bank transfers denominated in euro in 36 countries. SEPA payments are a critical part of companies' finance operations.

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SEPA rulebook digest for 2023: what to look for

Every year, the European Payments Council (EPC) updates their SEPA payment schemes rulebooks, which are the set of rules, practices, and standards to achiev ...

SEPA, its history, and its members

Since 2008, the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) has made euro-denominated bank payments simpler and faster. In 2021, SEPA payments accounted for more t ...

Common characteristics of a SEPA payment

SEPA payments are highly standardised, with scheme rules set by the European Payments Council (EPC). Though every SEPA scheme has unique characteristics, th ...

The different SEPA payment schemes

The first SEPA payment scheme was introduced in 2008, called SEPA Credit Transfer. Since then, SEPA’s functionality has since expanded significantly. Today, ...

The different stakeholders involved in SEPA

In this article, we outline the key organisations behind SEPA. We examine the role each organisation plays and look at how those actors involved in a SEPA p ...

R-transactions for SEPA indirect participants

In addition to regular SEPA payment flows, SEPA indirect participants have access to additional payment flows. These flows are known as R-transactions. ...

SEPA Instant Credit Transfer

Instant payments in Europe are at an inflection point. The SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme finally has broad adoption throughout Europe and planned regulation is aiming to remove remaining frictions.

Payment operations teams are presented with a unique opportunity to build better experiences and make treasury workflows finally real-time.

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SEPA payments by the numbers

How do SEPA payments compare to other common payment methods in the eurozone? How quickly do the newer SEPA methods progress in the area? ...

SEPA messages: what they are and how they work

What kind of SEPA messages exists? What are their syntax and format? How ISO 20022 sets the standards of messages used by SEPA direct and indirect participa ...

Local payment schemes in the UK: CHAPS, BACS, FPS and NPA explained

Though the United Kingdom is within SEPA, the UK relies extensively on local payment schemes because its currency - the pound sterling – is not supported by ...

The main differences between SEPA Direct Debit Core and B2B

SEPA Direct Debit Core and SEPA Direct Debit B2B both enable regular payments for recurring obligations such as bills, rent, and subscriptions. Functionally ...

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Local schemes

Explore our series on local schemes, uncovering key numbers, message insights, and what is shaping the banking system in specific countries.

Reconciliation

In the payments, finance and accounting world, reconciliation primarily consists of comparing a company’s internal records with its bank account records.

Bacs & FPS participation

Agency banking gives direct or indirect access via an agent bank to interbank processing infrastructure for UK and European payment schemes. It enables companies to send and receive SEPA, Bacs, FPS and Swift payments on their behalf or on behalf of their customers, via their own IBANs.

Payment Operations

As the role of payments continues to increase, software emerges at the crossroads of operations, accounting, and payment systems: payment operations.

SEPA Participation

SEPA participants have direct or indirect access via a sponsor bank to interbank processing infrastructure for SEPA payment schemes. It enables them to send and receive SEPA payments on their behalf or on behalf of their customers, via their own IBANs.

Instant Payments

Instant payments are electronic retail payments that are processed in real time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, where the funds are made available immediately for use by the recipient.

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