SEPA Countries (List of countries)
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) has built a scope for secure, consistent, and quick payment transactions in and across Europe. With the SEPA credit transfer and the SEPA direct debit, economic operators in Europe can carry out transactions subject to the same conditions. SEPA payments will make Europe’s banking industry more efficient as well as cheaper. Businesses and people residing in the participating SEPA countries can process their payment transactions regardless of where they are in Europe. In this way, a single marketplace for retail payments will be created in the Single Euro Payments Area, enabling better services for customers. The SEPA countries differ in IBAN formats, ISO codes and partly by their currencies for payment transactions. The ISO codes are used in the BIC and are two-digit country codes which, with SEPA, will become indispensable for national and international payment transactions.
SEPA Membership and Special Cases
The SEPA countries include the 28 EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom), the three EEA countries Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein as well as Switzerland and Monaco.
SEPA standardises payment transactions in the euro currency within the participating countries in Europe. This not only creates a better overview but also adds a considerable value for banks and companies. The SEPA countries that do not use the euro currency have to adhere to the competitive conditions of the euro payment area. However, a special case applies to Switzerland and Monaco, as these countries are bound by the SEPA rulebooks but not by the EU regulations and directives.
SEPA Countries in the European Union (EUR and without EUR):
SEPA countries (euro): Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
SEPA countries (without euro): Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.