SEPA and non SEPA transfers, which one to choose?
When you export internationally, or have subsidiaries abroad, you may need to make international SEPA or non-SEPA transfers depending on the geographical area to which you are transferring funds.
What are the differences between SEPA and non-SEPA international transfers?
SEPA transfer is the international reference transfer within the SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area). SEPA transfers allow you to transfer money between two bank accounts within SEPA, in the Euro currency. To make transactions outside Europe, you need to make a non-SEPA international transfer in the ISO 20022 XML standard.
A SEPA transfer is usually free of charge with an execution time of one working day, whether you send a domestic transfer or a cross-border transfer to any SEPA country.
A non-SEPA international transfer takes longer, 4 to 5 working days on average. This delay may be longer depending on the country and the beneficiary’s bank, and if the transfer goes through an intermediary bank. In addition, the cost of a non-SEPA international credit transfer is higher due to the costs associated with the use of the SWIFT interbank network. Banks may also charge fees for sending, receiving, and exchanging transfers, the amount of which varies from one bank to another.
How to make a transfer?
SEPA transfer
To make a SEPA transfer, you must give the order to your bank from your personal banking space or from a payment management software equipped with the SEPA service. You must provide the following information:
- Details of the account to be debited
- Details of the beneficiary account (name and surname of the account holder, IBAN)
- Amount of the transfer
- Date of execution of the transfer
International non-SEPA XML ISO 20022 transfer
To make an ISO 20022 XML international transfer, it is usually necessary to contact your bank directly and send them an international transfer request. As for the SEPA transfer, you must create the transfer order and send the following information to the bank:
- Details of the account to be debited
- Details of the beneficiary account: (name, first name and address of the account holder, IBAN or account number)
- Details of the beneficiary’s bank (address, BIC or SWIFT code)
- Amount and currency of the transfer
- Date of execution of the transfer
When sending a non-SEPA international credit transfer, you can choose to pay the entire transfer fee (OUR), leave it to the beneficiary (BEN), or share it between sender and beneficiary (SHARE).
You can use a payment management software to simplify the creation of your SEPA and international XML ISO 20022 transfer files. With the Iziago software, you have the possibility to create your own customized third-party database, which you can sort by groups (employees, domestic suppliers, European suppliers, customers, etc). You can create SEPA or international ISO 20022 remittance templates, save them, and reuse them for your recurring transfers, such as your supplier orders, or funds transfers to your subsidiaries for example.