Single Euro Payments Area
Credit transfers and direct debits will change over to a Europe-wide scheme by 1 February 2014.
Europe is becoming increasingly integrated. That’s also true of payment transactions. Up to now, national payment schemes have been the norm – even within the euro area. To put an end to this fragmentation, policymakers and the banking sector have introduced uniform regulations for national and European cashless payments, i.e. credit transfers and direct debits. Under the name Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), credit transfers and direct debits will change over to a Europe-wide scheme by 1 February 2014. SEPA is designed to facilitate cross-border payment transactions. From February 2014 onwards, the previously used account numbers and bank sort codes will be abolished and replaced by the new so-called International Bank Account Number (IBAN). Consisting of 22 alphanumeric characters, the IBAN will appear on bank statements and bank cards. The new standardized scheme will be valid for euro payments in the 28 EU countries as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Monaco and Switzerland.
