Payment rails
SEPA (classic transfer)
European transfer processed in batches, business days only, credited at the latest the next business day.
The SCT scheme moves euro transfers between countries of the SEPA area, which extends well beyond the euro area. It runs on clearing cycles: the sending bank assembles a batch, submits it at a fixed time, and the beneficiary is credited at the latest on the following business day.
Two practical consequences. An order placed after the bank’s cut-off joins the next day’s batch. And the applicable calendar is that of TARGET2 business days, which excludes weekends and a handful of European public holidays: a transfer sent before a long weekend can arrive four calendar days later without any rule having been broken.