SWIFT & SEPA Payment services

Single Euro Payments Area is a payment integration initiative of European countries, which allows users to make simplified transfers in euro, both in terms of speed and cost-efficiency. European citizens and residents use SEPA payments for different motivations, which include but are not limited to billing for services or products, receiving salaries, pensions, and various regular payouts, sending money to friends and family, etc. Many businesses fully rely on SEPA within Europe, as the system helps them satisfy their main needs: purchasing raw materials, buying and selling ready products, sending salaries to their employees, clearing money obligations with their partners, and the list goes on.

If the sender or recipient’s account is in a different currency, currency exchange will be required. For more information on international transfers, please read our dedicated blog post.

To send a SEPA transfer, you need to log in to your account with your provider and initiate a transfer as you normally would. You will then need to add a recipient along with the required details and the IBAN of the recipient’s account. That’s it, your SEPA transfer is good to go.

SEPA Instant Credit Transfer is a scheme that enables faster and more secure payments within the SEPA area. The transactions are processed in just a few seconds, which is drastically faster than traditional payments.

SWIFT is another cross-border wire transfer network, which currently connects over 10,000 banking institutions in 210 countries. Not all financial institutions are connected to SWIFT without third parties, but instead use correspondent banks that act on their behalf, following mutual agreements. Thus, one simple transaction may sometimes be subject to fees from a couple of different institutions. SWIFT transactions are executed in 38+ currencies, but the fees are higher compared to SEPA transfers. Besides, while SEPA transfers are usually executed on the same day, SWIFT transactions may take up to a few working days. To find out more about the difference between SEPA and SWIFT, please read our dedicated blog post.

To make a SWIFT transfer, you need to initiate the transaction, enter your recipient's information (name, address, bank name and address, recipient's bank account number, and their bank's SWIFT/BIC code) and the transfer amount, and finalize the process by confirming your payment.