SEPA is a system of the Single European Payments Area, which aims to facilitate payments throughout the European Single Market area, in particular credit transfers, card payments, and direct debits.
This system has made it possible to overcome several obstacles, such as international transfers, exchange rates, time zone differences, and even technological gaps between the different members of the Euro Zone. However, there is some confusion between this system and SEPA Instant payments (SEPA Instant). We will now explain the main differences between these two systems (SEPA payments payments and SEPA Instant payments), specifically in terms of time and transfer limits.
SEPA payments and SEPA Instant payments
In order to streamline transactions between banks in different countries, the European Payments Council (EPC) developed the unified payment system known as the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), which began operating in 2008.
Even though it had a quick adoption and good receptivity among companies, individuals, and public entities, other types of needs arose that led the European Union to develop in 2017 the SEPA Instant payment system (SEPA Instant), which allows making cross-border payments in an easier and instantaneous way and with the same security of the SEPA payment system.
Transfer times
When we talk about differences in transfer times between the SEPA payment system and SEPA Instant, we must take into account two indicators: the payment processing time and the system availability time to make the transfer.
Payment processing time
In the SEPA payment system, the processing time for a transfer can be between one day and three business days. In the case of SEPA Instant payments, transfers can be processed in approximately 10 seconds.
System availability time for transfers
The SEPA payment system is available only during business days (Monday through Friday) and during the hours established by the banks involved in the transaction. It is important to note that the system is not available on holidays, so the availability of the bank (receiving or sending the payment) may vary from country to country.
The SEPA Instant payment system is available for transactions 24 hours a day, seven days a week (365 days a year), even on weekends and holidays.
Transfer limits for SEPA and SEPA Instant payments
When we talk about the transfer limit of SEPA and SEPA Instant payments, we can see that there is a big difference between these two payment systems. This is because the SEPA payment system has a limit set at 999,999,999 euros per transfer.
On the other hand, the SEPA Instant payment system has a limit set at 100,000 euros per transfer. It is important to note that any transfer over this amount will be processed as a SEPA payment, which will change and increase the payment processing time.
Do you want to know more about Pilsenga’s SEPA and SEPA Instant payments service?
If you are interested in Pilsenga’s products or services (including instant SEPA transfers) you can contact us by visiting the following link.
