What are SEPA payments?
SEPA is the scheme that makes euro payments across Europe work like domestic ones. Here's how SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Instant differ, the timings and limits, and what it means for businesses.
SEPA, in one sentence
SEPA — the Single Euro Payments Area — is the framework that lets you send euros across Europe as easily and cheaply as a domestic payment. A euro transfer from Ireland to Germany, or from a UK euro account to France, moves on the same standardised rails, with the same IBAN format and the same pricing as a local one.
SEPA spans 36 countries — the EU plus EEA states and a handful of others — and covers euro payments only. It is why a business holding a euro account doesn’t need a different process for every European country.
The two SEPA rails
SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT)
The standard scheme: euro payments that settle within one business day. No scheme value limit, IBAN-based, and priced as a domestic transfer regardless of which SEPA country the money is going to.
SEPA Instant (SCT Inst)
The real-time scheme: euro payments delivered in under ten seconds, 24/7, including weekends and holidays. It historically carried a €100,000 per-transaction limit, now being raised and phased out as the EU mandates instant euro payments across all banks. Where both banks support it, SEPA Instant is the euro equivalent of the UK’s Faster Payments.
Timings, limits and cost at a glance
| SEPA Credit Transfer | SEPA Instant | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Within 1 business day | Under 10 seconds, 24/7 |
| Value limit | None (scheme) | €100k historically, being removed |
| Cost | Domestic-equivalent | Domestic-equivalent |
| Coverage | 36 SEPA countries | SEPA banks that support SCT Inst |
What SEPA means for businesses
If you collect or pay in euros, SEPA is what keeps that cheap and predictable. With a euro IBAN you can:
- Receive from any SEPA customer as if you were a local euro business.
- Pay suppliers and contractors across the eurozone at domestic-equivalent cost.
- Settle instantly where SEPA Instant is supported, instead of waiting on cross-border timelines.
The catch: SEPA is euros only. The moment you need sterling, dollars, or to convert between currencies, you are back to mixing rails — a euro IBAN here, a sterling account there, an FX broker in between.
One account, every rail — with KwiikPay
KwiikPay gives you named multi-currency accounts that speak each rail natively: SEPA and SEPA Instant for EUR, Faster Payments for GBP, and SWIFT/Fedwire for USD and beyond — under one ledger, with wholesale FX and a single transparent spread when you move between them. Instead of stitching together a euro IBAN, a sterling account and a currency broker, you hold and move every currency from one place. SEPA handles the euro leg beautifully; we handle everything around it — as a registered VASP in Poland and, in Canada, a Payment Service Provider under the RPAA (Bank of Canada-supervised) and a FINTRAC MSB.
FAQs
How long does a SEPA payment take?
A standard SEPA Credit Transfer settles within one business day. SEPA Instant settles in under ten seconds, 24/7, including weekends — provided both banks support the SEPA Instant scheme.
Is there a limit on SEPA payments?
Standard SEPA Credit Transfers have no scheme value limit. SEPA Instant historically carried a €100,000 per-transaction cap, though this has been raised and is being phased out as instant euro payments are mandated across the EU. Individual banks may still apply their own limits.
Can a UK business use SEPA?
Yes. The UK remains part of the SEPA geography for euro payments even after leaving the EU, so UK businesses with a euro account and IBAN can send and receive SEPA payments to and from the eurozone on the same terms.
What is the difference between SEPA and SWIFT?
SEPA is a low-cost, standardised scheme for euro payments within the SEPA area, priced like a domestic transfer. SWIFT is a global messaging network used for cross-currency and cross-border payments via correspondent banks, typically slower and with layered fees. For euro-to-euro within Europe, SEPA is almost always cheaper and faster.