SEPA Payments
Cavan Credit Union operates using the SEPA payment system and is not a member of SWIFT or International Transfer.
For the avoidance of doubt this means that credit union members can send and receive SEPA payments only (regardless of the type of member account e.g. Share account, Current account etc). If a member wishes to transfer funds into their account, then the payment must be made as a SEPA payment only.
If you are aware that a third party is making a payment into your account, it is advisable that they tell their financial institution that the payment needs to be made via SEPA. If a payment is sent in any other way, for example by SWIFT/International Transfer, the payment will be rejected.
What is SEPA?
SEPA, short for Single Europe Payments Area, is similar to SWIFT, however it exists specifically for banking and transfers within Europe. It is much newer than SWIFT, having only been established in the late-2000s.
SEPA payments can only be in euro, unlike SWIFT which operates in many currencies. 28 EU countries in the Eurozone are part of the SEPA zone, along with Monaco, San Marino, four members of the European Free Trade Association – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, and other non-Eurozone countries including the UK.
To make a payment via SEPA, you simply need a euro account and the IBAN of the recipient – you don’t need a BIC. In terms of the transfer process itself, SEPA payments happen much quicker than SWIFT transfers. A regular SEPA payment may take up to two days to arrive, however a new scheme known as SEPA Instant Payment or SCT Inst is able to process transfers within 10 seconds.
What is SWIFT?
SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, and has been the leader in facilitating inter-currency wire transfers since it was introduced in the early 1970s. Just about every country in the world is connected to the SWIFT network, allowing local banks and institutions to process SWIFT transfers. Cavan Credit Union, is not a member of SWIFT and cannot participate directly in these transactions.
