SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments Area, which is a payment integration initiative of the European Union for simplification of bank transfers denominated in euro. The aim of SEPA is to improve the efficiency of cross-border payments and turn the previously fragmented national markets for euro payments into a single domestic one. SEPA enables customers to make cashless euro payments to any account located anywhere in the area, using a single bank account and a single set of payment instruments.

SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) allows for the transfer of funds from one bank account to another. SEPA clearing rules require that payments made before the cutoff point on a working day be credited to the recipients account by the next working day. SEPA guarantees that euro payments are received within a guaranteed time, and banks are not allowed to make any deductions of the amount transferred. Banks and payment institutions still have the option of charging a credit-transfer fee of their choice for euro transfers if it is charged uniformly to all EEA participants, banks or payment institutions, domestic or foreign.

SEPA has boosted the economies where it operates and provides convenience for consumers and businesses all over the world. SEPA payments are cashless payments in euro currency that are processed via the Single Euro Payments Area network to facilitate cross-border bank transfers in 36 Eurozone and non-euro area countries. SEPA payments are fast and cost-effective, and the payment integration triggered by SEPA has contributed to the efficiency and competitiveness of the European economy as a whole by eliminating differences between national and cross-border payments by harmonizing standards in all the participating countries.