SEPA payments: ISO 200222 XML format | Cegid Allmybanks (2024)

FAQs

SEPA payments: ISO 200222 XML format | Cegid Allmybanks? ›

Your payments in SEPA format

The SEPA data formats are globally compatible standards for the exchange of financial industry messages. The European banking industry is leading the way in terms of innovation in payments.

Easy way to pay, simply enter the beneficiaries International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and Branch Identifier Code (BIC), these details are provided the beneficiary. Make & Receive SEPA payments from your £ UK business account,when using a GBP account, the currency is automatically converted into Euro for you*.

Thanks to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), customers can make cashless euro payments – via credit transfer and direct debit – to anywhere in the European Union, as well as a number of non-EU countries, in a fast, safe and efficient way, just like national payments.

The ISO 20022 XML format is a standard used for SEPA credit transfer and direct debit files to harmonize payment and collection processes within the European Economic Area (EEA).

What makes ISO 20022 special is its use of Extensible Markup Language (XML), which provides a common language for systems and people to exchange information about financial business.

If you live in a country in the SEPA zone and your bank is a SEPA member, then your bank account is automatically a SEPA bank account in that all electronic payments in euros will fall under the SEPA scheme. If you're not a resident of a SEPA country, then you might still be able to open a UK SEPA bank account.

Under SEPA, all bank accounts must be identified by an International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and a Bank Identifier Code (BIC). To make a payment, the International Bank Account Number (IBAN) must be used. The Bank Identifier Code (BIC) is optional.

Is SEPA the same as ACH? ›

SEPA is the European Union's equivalent of ACH payments (often referred to as eChecks)– it was designed to simplify electronic payments in euros for European businesses and government bodies. Payments made on these networks are often referred to as direct debit payments.

The SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is a pan-European network that allows you to send and receive payments in euros (€) between two cross-border bank accounts in the eurozone. With SEPA, sending money within the eurozone is as easy as making your usual domestic bank transfers.

SEPA payments are only made in euro (EUR) currency. Is SEPA the Same as IBAN? No. SEPA is a European payment method using euros that requires furnishing the bank and bank account information using the payer and payee's identifier code known as IBAN (International Bank Account Number) for an electronic transaction.

Example – Breakdown of a SEPA transfer

First, Holvi would take €200 from your account. Then, by using the IBAN – and if necessary, the BIC – numbers to find the right bank account, the €200 would then be deposited into your customer's account by their German bank, all within one business day.

It's similar to an ACH transfer, except the SEPA transfer uses the IBAN and BIC numbers of both the sender and recipient's bank, rather than banking account information and routing number.

SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) is an instant payment instrument for the execution of credit transfers in Euro. The messages are exchanged in ISO XML formats over a high speed network resulting in credit to beneficiary's account in seconds.

Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) transactions provide an affordable, efficient Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) option across a number of countries in Europe. The SEPA system allows European businesses and consumers to send EFT payments to any country located in the Euro area.