SEPA Basic Information

SEPA is the abbreviation standing for “Single Euro Payments Area”, which means a single area for payments in the euro currency.

• speed – the payment is credited to the Beneficiary's account immediately, or at the latest on the following banking day
• no additional costs – the payment is made in full, i.e. the Beneficiary's account is always credited with the full amount of the transfer, the Beneficiary's banking fees are charged separately (i.e. SHA fee)
• end-to-End reference – the payment contains fields to identify the payment (e.g. for the invoice number)
• Payment Recipient Verification (PRV) – a service that checks the match between the recipient's name and account number during the payment process

"What is Verification of Payee?" (VoP)? 

Verification of Payee is a service, available from October 2025, that allows you to verify whether the entered account number matches the real beneficiary's name when entering SEPA payments (payments in EUR within the eurozone). This function significantly strengthens the security of your finances and also helps prevent errors when entering payment data. 

How does it work?

• When entering a SEPA payment, you fill in the account number and the recipient’s name (mandatory details). The system performs an automatic check to compare whether the details match.
• The verification of the recipient’s name is done instantly during the payment entry, so it does not affect the processing speed.
• The system is designed to be tolerant of minor errors but will alert you to significant discrepancies that may indicate a mistake or a risky transaction. Possible check results are:
  • Match – the recipient’s name and account match, and the payment proceeds without any alert (diacritics, uppercase/lowercase letters, special characters, and company legal forms are not considered in the match evaluation).
  • Partial match – the system detects minor differences and notifies you (e.g., typos, word order swaps, etc.). The correct recipient name is displayed, and the payment can still be sent.
  • Mismatch – the entered name differs significantly from the registered one. A recommendation to verify the details is displayed, but the payment can still be sent despite the discrepancy.

Which payments does this apply to?

• The obligation to verify the identity of the beneficiary name with the IBAN applies to banks within the euro area and applies to instant, standard and express SEPA payments.
• For bulk payments, verification of beneficiary (VoP) can be initiated for transactions imported in XML format (SEPA).

Why is it important?

• It protects against fraudulent transfers – for example, in cases where attackers try to trick you into sending money to the wrong account.
• It increases trust in the security of payment transactions.
• It helps prevent incorrectly entered SEPA payments.

SEPA eliminates differences between domestic and cross-border payments denominated in the euro currency within the European Union and the European Economic Area. Individuals, entrepreneurs, companies, trades-people as well as public sector may carry out payments and direct debits in the euro currency within this area within the same time and for the same price as domestic payments.

Countries which are part of the SEPA scheme: HERE

The up-to-date list (register) of SEPA participants is available on the website of the European Payments Council.

The SEPA conditions and rules are set out in:

• Directive of the European Parliament and Council 2007/64/EC on payment services in the internal market (Payment Services Directive – “PSD”), which in the SR has been incorporated in Act No. 492/09 on payment services (effective since 1 December 2009),
• Regulation of the European Parliament and Council 924/2009 on cross-border payments in the EU
• Regulation of the European Parliament and Council 260/2012 establishing technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro.

The following payment instruments have been created for carrying out SEPA payments:

• SEPA Credit Transfer = SEPA CREDIT TRANSFER (SCT),
• SEPA Direct Debit = SEPA DIRECT DEBIT (SDD).

Technical documentation regarding SEPA payment instruments is available on the website of the European Payments Council (EPC)

• European legislation, Regulation (EU) 2024/886 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2024, has made it mandatory for all banks in the euro area to accept SEPA Instant Payments from 9 January 2025 and to introduce a SEPA Instant Payments sending service from 9 October 2025 at the latest. For countries outside the euro area, SEPA Instant Payments must be available two years later on accounts that support payments in EUR.
• On July 23, 2024, the European Commission (EC) published  Q&A European Commission  on the Instant Payments Regulation, where the EC answers questions from the banking community regarding the interpretation of the regulation.
• SEPA Instant Credit Transfer The European Payment Council (EPC) as an owner of the SEPA Instant Payment scheme, manages „SCT Inst rulebook“ and publishes a list of banks that have joined the Instant Payments scheme.
• National Bank of Slovakia as part of the Eurosystem, provides the Slovak banking market with the service of settlement of instant payments in the payment system for instant payments TIPS (Target Instant Payment Settlement). UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia, a.s. is a direct participant in TIPS (Target Instant Payment Settlement) as well as a direct participant in the RT1 clearing system, managed by EBA Clearing.