SEPA vs SWIFT
THE KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SEPA AND SWIFT ARE SCOPE, CURRENCY, PRICE AND PAYMENT SPEED
| SEPA | SWIFT | |
|---|---|---|
Geographic area
|
Only within the SEPA zone (EU + associated countries) |
Enables international payments in practically all countries worldwide |
Currency
|
Exclusively for payments in euros (no currency conversion) |
Supports all currencies |
Costs
|
Costs are lower and predictable, with mandatory application of the SHA model (each party pays their own bank) | Costs vary depending on the number of intermediary banks |
Execution speed
|
Transactions are executed on D+0 or D+1 | Processing may take several business days |
Data
|
A valid IBAN of the beneficiary within the SEPA zone is mandatory | Depends on the country; may require multiple different data fields |
Payment format
|
Standardized and strictly defined. The payment description is limited to 70 characters | More flexible. The payment description is limited to 140 characters |
Transparency
|
Fixed SEPA rules provide a high level of transparency and a uniform processing flow | Variable costs and different banking practices may reduce predictability |
Typical use cases
|
EUR payments within the SEPA zone (preferred channel for all clients operating in Europe) | International payments to countries outside the SEPA zone or for currencies other than EUR |
| SEPA | SWIFT | |
|---|---|---|
|
Geographic area
|
Only within the SEPA zone (EU + associated countries) |
Enables international payments in practically all countries worldwide |
|
Currency
|
Exclusively for payments in euros (no currency conversion) |
Supports all currencies |
|
Costs
|
Costs are lower and predictable, with mandatory application of the SHA model (each party pays their own bank) | Costs vary depending on the number of intermediary banks |
|
Execution speed
|
Transactions are executed on D+0 or D+1 | Processing may take several business days |
|
Data
|
A valid IBAN of the beneficiary within the SEPA zone is mandatory | Depends on the country; may require multiple different data fields |
|
Payment format
|
Standardized and strictly defined. The payment description is limited to 70 characters | More flexible. The payment description is limited to 140 characters |
|
Transparency
|
Fixed SEPA rules provide a high level of transparency and a uniform processing flow | Variable costs and different banking practices may reduce predictability |
|
Typical use cases
|
EUR payments within the SEPA zone (preferred channel for all clients operating in Europe) | International payments to countries outside the SEPA zone or for currencies other than EUR |