what is a sepa payment

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. 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. The SEPA region consists of 36 countries, including the 27 member states of the European Union, the four member states of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), and the United Kingdom. SEPA covers predominantly normal bank transfers, and payment methods which have additional optional features or services, such as mobile phone or smart card payment systems, are not directly covered. However, the instant SEPA payment scheme facilitates payment products also on smart devices. SEPA was introduced for credit transfers in 2008, followed by direct debits in 2009, and fully implemented by 2014 in the euro area (and by 2016 in non-euro area SEPA countries).