Electronic payments via SEPA
Basic terms
SEPA — Single Euro Payments Area — is an international area of several dozen countries where you can make or accept a transaction in a single currency — the euro — according to the rules common to all markets. The so-called European payment.
Another related concept IBAN is a universal international bank identifier that allows you to identify the client's account number in any other bank in the SEPA zone, consisting of 34 digits.
BIC is the identification code of the beneficiary bank in the SEPA system; the identifier size is from 8 to 11 characters.
Highlights of using SEPA:
- The system currency is EUR.
- The maximum payment is not limited.
- Payment execution time: from 10 seconds to 1 banking day.
- Commissions for ongoing electronic money transfers are of the following types: at the sender's expense and joint commissions, which the sender and recipient equally bear.
- To send and receive payments in the EU area, you need a bank account with any bank in the EU.
Entering electronic money via SEPA bank transfers
Many payment systems in the world carry out transfers through the SEPA system. Depositing money through the SEPA payment system to your account in a European bank, as well as transferring to any legal entity or individual, can be done in several ways:
- by depositing cash at the physical office of the payment system;
- through Internet banking;
- through exchangers.
In the first case, you must come to any agency office that works with money transfers and send a payment request. To transfer, you need a civil passport — for residents, a national identity card, a registration mark — for non-residents, transfer data — full name or name of the counterparty, IBAN and BIC (SWIFT).
The volume of the transfer, as well as the commission for the operation, is determined by the tariffs of the operator.
The second way — the transfer of money through Internet banking — is through the bank's account, where the account is opened. The amount of the transfer and the commission for the operation is determined by the operator's tariffs.
Important! When entering money by any of the above methods, the transfer amount must be indicated in EUR, and conversion from any currency into euro is carried out at the bank's current exchange rate.
Where SEPA bank transfers can come in handy
Sending SEPA bank transfers is relevant for those who use any kind of services from European services. In this way, you can, for example, pay for purchases, services, reservations in hotels and inns, buy tickets, and pay for foreign education.
For active Internet users, using electronic exchangers is an opportunity to quickly and inexpensively receive transfers of various kinds, including payment for work and services (for freelancers) and instantly withdraw money to payment cards. The list of such exchangers is present in our monitoring.
European payment is a great way to buy/sell/exchange digital currency for those involved in cryptocurrencies, stock trading and investment activities. The exchange scheme is as follows: electronic wallet (exchange) — exchanger — wallet — card. However, not all services and not all wallets support this format. The most popular multi-currency wallets are WebMoney, AdvCash, Perfect Money, Capitalist, PAYEER.
Benefits of using the SEPA system
The following advantages can be distinguished:
- High speed of transfers, according to a single standard in the European territory - no more than a day.
- Low fixed fees for the transfer of any amount in the internal space of the EU.
- There is no need to create different accounts in different banks - a single charge and the transfer is sent according to the identifier of the financial institution itself.
- Uniform requirements and uniform payment instruments throughout the European Union.
- Management of any actions through gadgets and a developed system of Internet banking.
Finally
Using SEPA transfers is a cheaper way to send and receive international money transfers than the traditional SWIFT system, which was more widespread until the end of 2017. When using the system, paying attention to the rates and conditions, which may vary between platforms and service providers, is essential.
