Single Euro Payments Area

The Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) aims to create a single market for low-value payments within the Eurozone, regardless of country borders.

Aimed at harmonising the diverse national and cross-border retail payment systems, SEPA will not only deliver greater convenience for consumers and businesses, it will undoubtedly contribute to the economic prosperity of Europe.

HSBC is at the forefront of the SEPA initiative and will work in partnership with you to create and implement the right SEPA strategy for your business.

Key features and benefits:

• While delivery within three days is the requirement of SEPA, HSBC has reduced its offering to just one day, and by meeting certain cut-off times, even achieving same-day value
• Typically the SEPA and STEP2 clearing mechanisms will provide a lower fee alternative to customers
• SEPA's reach extends to 32 European countries allowing for easy collection of sales revenues from abroad
• SEPA provides greater certainty over arrival of funds, higher payment success rates and greater automation
• Establishing a bank relationship in a new market is no longer a prerequisite for companies that trade across Europe
• HSBC provides full end-to-end data from remitter to beneficiary in electronic format
• Richer narrative exchanged between buyer and seller improves reconciliation and in turn, improves supplier relationships
• For large remitters, we offer a BIC and IBAN validation/conversion tool which will assist in achieving the highest STP levels
• We process instructions via HSBCnet and our other internet-based electronic banking systems