What is SEPA?

SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is a payment integration initiative of the European Union for simplifying bank transfers denominated in euro. Here's how it compares to other major payment rails:

SEPA:

• Region: European Union + EEA countries + UK
• Currency: Euro only
• Speed: Usually 1 business day (SEPA Credit Transfer) or instant (SEPA Instant)
• Cost: Generally free or very low cost (few cents)
• Format: ISO20022 XML
• Use case: Ideal for euro-denominated transfers within Europe

ACH (Automated Clearing House):

• Region: United States
• Currency: USD only
• Speed: 1-2 business days (standard) or same day (FedNow)
• Cost: Very low cost (few cents)
• Format: NACHA format (moving towards ISO20022)
• Use case: Domestic US transfers, direct deposits, bill payments

SWIFT:

• Region: Global (200+ countries)
• Currency: All major currencies
• Speed: 1-5 business days
• Cost: Higher ($20-50 typically)
• Format: MT messages (legacy) and ISO20022 (new standard)
• Use case: International transfers, especially high-value or cross-border

SEPA and ACH are domestic/regional systems optimized for their specific regions and currencies, offering low-cost, efficient transfers. SWIFT, while more expensive and slower, provides global reach and multi-currency support. All three systems are moving towards ISO20022 as the standard message format, which enables richer payment data and better interoperability.

You can use iso20022.js to generate the ISO20022 messages required for SEPA transfers programmatically.