FAQs

SEPA Scheme FAQs

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What is SEPA?

The single euro payments area (SEPA) is a pan European payment solution that delivers domestic and cross border Euro Credit Transfers throughout the SEPA zone.

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Which countries form the 'SEPA zone'?

SEPA covers the whole of the EU. Other countries and territories which are part of the geographical scope of the SEPA Schemes are: Andorra, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Mayotte, Saint-Pierre-et Miquelon, Guernsey, Jersey and Isle of Man.

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How many SEPA payment schemes are there?

There are three SEPA schemes:

• SEPA Credit Transfer
• SEPA Instant Credit Transfer
• SEPA Direct Debit

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Can SEPA payments be processed in multiple currencies?

No, all SEPA payments (regardless of scheme) must be in euros. However, the sending and receiving accounts do not have to be Euro accounts.

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What information do I need from the beneficiary to make a payment?

The IBAN details of the beneficiary account.

SEPA Credit Transfer FAQs

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Is SEPA Credit Transfer a mandatory scheme?

Yes. All PSPs participating in SEPA are required to support the scheme.

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Is there a value limit?

The maximum amount per payment is 999,999,999.99 euros.

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When is the SEPA Credit Transfer scheme available?

SEPA Credit Transfer is available during the hours of every Business Banking Day.

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What is a Business Banking Day?

A Business Banking Day is a day in which the SEPA Credit Transfer clearing & settlement mechanisms (STEP2 & TARGET2) are in operation which are every Monday to Friday except January 1st, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May 1st, December 25th and December 26th. These exception days do not change if they fall on a Saturday or Sunday.

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When will outbound payments sent via SEPA Credit Transfer be processed?

Payments can be made via our API or Customer Portal 24/7/365. Payments to be sent via SEPA Credit Transfers are sent to our partner bank in batches throughout the course of the day on each Business Banking Day. Our partner bank then processes these payments 4 times per Business Banking Day.

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When will inbound payments received via SEPA Credit Transfer arrive?

We receive payments from our partner bank 5 times per Business Banking Day, with the last payments received around 3:30pm (GMT/BST). Upon receipt, these payments will be credited to the beneficiary's account.

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What are the cut-off times for processing?

Payments created between 0000 and 1359 (GMT/BST) will be processed same day.
Payments created between 1400 and 2359 (GMT/BST) will be processed the next Business Banking Day.

SEPA Instant Credit Transfer FAQs

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When is the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme available?

SEPA Instant Credit Transfers are available 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

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Is SEPA Instant Credit Transfers a mandatory scheme?

No. Not all PSPs accept SEPA Instant Credit Transfer payments. In these instances, the payment will be sent via SEPA Credit Transfer.

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Which PSPs support SEPA Instant Credit Transfers?

EBA Clearing, the provider of the payment processing service for SEPA Instant Credit Transfers, maintain a downloadable list of the current participating PSPs.

To check if a PSP supports SEPA Instant Credit Transfers, you can refer to the "List of RT1 Participants and Addressable PSPs in RT1 System (SCT Inst)" which is available at the bottom of this page.

Note that even if a PSP supports SEPA Instant Credit Transfers, not all of their accounts might be configured to support it.

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Is there a value limit?

The maximum amount per payment is 100,000 euros.

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What if I want to send a payment over 100,000 euros?

This will be sent via SEPA Credit Transfer, which will credit the beneficiary by the next Business Banking Day.

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How long does a SEPA Instant Credit Transfer payment take to credit the beneficiary account?

The payment will credit the beneficiary within 10 seconds of execution.