European Transfer

How does it work?

1. The European transfer is the standard mechanism for paper and electronic transfers in euros destined for/originating in European Union member states, Andorra, Guernsey, Iceland, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Isle of Man, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican City.
2. The IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is the sole identifier of the bank account.
3. The nominal amount of the payment is transferred in full (any costs are charged separately).
4. The shared-cost principle is applied: each party pays any charges imposed by its bank.
5. The message to the beneficiary can comprise up to 140 characters (4 x 35).
6. Transfer with memo date allows you to schedule transactions for execution at a subsequent date (up to 366 days in advance).
7. You can tick the 'instant wire transfer' box in Easy Banking Business. If you do this, your money will be transferred in just a few seconds into the beneficiary's account in any participating bank in Belgium, but also gradually in other countries in the SEPA zone (a maximum of EUR 50,000/account/day).

Advantages

• Uniformity: you benefit from the same system and format (XML) for all your euro payments in Europe.
• Speed: the execution period is reduced to a maximum of one bank business day. And even better: if you choose instant wire transfers, your money will be transferred and therefore available in the beneficiary's account within a few seconds.
• Easy identification: a unique reference of up to 36 characters maximum can be assigned to each transaction. This allows the transaction’s end-to-end identification.

Good to know

• The transfer forms that the biller sends to its payers have to comply with precise standards to avoid the need for manual processing or even rejection, leading to delays in payment. More information can be found at http://www.sepabelgium.be
• SEPA also includes euro payments with certain countries outside the euro-zone, such as Sweden, or even outside the European Union, such as Switzerland, Norway and Monaco.

Useful link(s)

http://www.sepabelgium.be