What is a SEPA bank transfer?
SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments Area. SEPA was introduced by the European Council to streamline the European payments structure. With SEPA, bank transfers can be done from any European checking account to any other European checking account. Paying by bank transfer is a very familiar and safe way for customers to pay online. They use their own trusted online banking environment to transfer money. SEPA bank transfers are supported in 34 countries. The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Poland all know high percentages of shoppers using SEPA bank transfers to pay for their online purchases.
The European Union developed the SEPA standards to allow for streamlined bank transfers denominated in euro, through the adoption of consistent and uniform bank account numbers called IBAN. Advantages of Europe-wide standardized account numbers include quick processing time of transfers and equal costs for bank transfers across borders, allowing merchants to receive payments from customers all over Europe. Customers receive the benefit of wide availability, quick payment processing and low transaction costs.