Last editedSep 20251 min read
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is an initiative that includes all 27 EU member states, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, and the United Kingdom, totaling 36 countries. The goal of SEPA is to standardize and simplify cross-border payments in euro across the region, making them as easy to process as domestic transactions. These countries either use the euro as their currency or adhere to its payment conditions.
Which countries are part of SEPA?
The SEPA zone consists of the 28 EU member states together with the four members of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). Monaco Andorra, San Marino, and the Vatican City State are also part of SEPA.
SEPA payments are only used for euro-denominated transactions. For this reason, the percentage of customers reachable by SEPA payments varies on a country-by-country basis.
How to collect SEPA Direct Debit payments with GoCardless
1.
Create your free GoCardless account, access your user-friendly payments dashboard & connect your accounting software (if you use one).
2.
Easily set up & schedule SEPA Direct Debit payments via payment pages on your website checkout or secure payment links.
3.
From now on you'll get paid on time, every time, as GoCardless automatically collects payment on the scheduled Direct Debit collection date. Simple.
Eurozone countries
In Eurozone countries, all bank accounts that were previously reachable through a national scheme are now reachable via the SEPA payment schemes:
Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Cyprus
Estonia
Finland (including Aland Islands)
France (including French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin (French part), Réunion and Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco (Monaco and San Marino have bilateral agreements with the EU to use the euro as their official currency)
Netherlands
Portugal (including Azores and Madeira)
San Marino (Monaco and San Marino have bilateral agreements with the EU to use the euro as their official currency)
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain (including Canary Islands and Ceuta en Melilla)
Vatican City State
Collecting payments from European customers can be complicated and expensive!
That’s why GoCardless makes it simple, affordable and hassle-free for merchants to collect SEPA payments.
Non-Eurozone countries
In non-eurozone countries, the SEPA schemes are only used for euro-denominated payments. Reachability is only required for euro-denominated bank accounts. For payments made in the local currency, national schemes should continue to be used.
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Denmark
Hungary
Iceland
Liechtenstein
Norway
Poland
Romania
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom (including Gibraltar)
Guernsey, Jersey, and Isle of Man
SEPA and GoCardless
GoCardless is the online Direct Debit specialist. Merchants can collect and manage their SEPA Direct Debit payments from any of the countries in the SEPA zone, using our online dashboard or simple REST API.
