SEPA|Payments|Financial Markets & Corporates|Homepage|BHF-BANK Aktiengesellschaft
English
Single Euro Payments Area
The vast majority of European countries have created an integrated payments market – your payment transactions can thus be processed more quickly and conveniently.On 28 January 2008, 31 European countries – the member states of the euro-zone, the non-euro countries of the European Union, and the four EFTA states Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland –became the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).
Based on a harmonised legal framework developed and approved by the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament, credit transfers and card-based transactions carried out in the SEPA countries can now be processed just as quickly, conveniently and safely as those made at home. Payments to other European countries are now as simple to make as domestic ones.
There is no obligation to use the SEPA credit transfer procedure, as payments can still be processed using the existing systems.
Clients with business relations in European SEPA participating countries will benefit greatly from the introduction of the new payments system. Operating accounts in individual SEPA countries so as to participate in local payment systems is now a thing of the past. The implementation of SEPA is thus a major milestone in the optimisation of cash and liquidity management.
SEPA credit transfers can be used for domestic and cross-border payments in the SEPA countries. Payment instructions need to include the International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and the Bank Identifier Code (BIC). We can offer you competent and pragmatic solutions for your migration to the new payments system. It goes without saying that we provide comprehensive assistance when it comes to introducing the SEPA credit transfer system at your company (e.g. transferring your static payments data from account number and bank sort code to IBAN and BIC). If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.