If you are wondering how to open a bank account that could support SEPA Instant payments for your business, then keep reading on. We are going to share with you how can you benefit from SEPA instant payments and how to open an account capable of it.
There are two types of SEPA instant payments: Payins and Payouts. Some businesses might benefit from instant credit of funds sent via SEPA instant and other might want their counterparts to receive the payment instantly therefore a use case is for the Payouts.
What Is SEPA Instant Payments?
SEPA Instant Payments are a rapid electronic funds transfer system operating within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA. This scheme enables almost immediate, 24/7, 365-days-a-year money transfers between participating banks, significantly surpassing the processing time of traditional SEPA Transfers.
Individuals and businesses benefit from quicker and more efficient transactions, ensuring funds are credited within seconds or instantly. SEPA Instant Payments improves cash flow management for businesses. The system is designed to be available across SEPA countries, promoting adoption of this near-instantaneous payment method.
What Are The Use Cases For SEPA Instant Payments?
SEPA Instant Payments offer a range of use cases across various sectors due to their speed and availability. For individuals, these instant transfers are valuable for urgent payments such as emergency expenses or last-minute bill settlements.
In the business realm, SEPA Instant Payments support enhanced cash flow management, enabling quicker settlement of invoices, payroll processing, and faster reconciliation of accounts.
E-commerce businesses benefit from immediate confirmation of payment, allowing for the prompt delivery of goods and services.
Additionally, SEPA Instant Payments facilitate time-sensitive financial transactions, such as securities trading and real-time settlement.
Overall, the system's speed and accessibility make it advantageous in situations where timely and efficient fund transfers are crucial, for both personal and business financial needs.
How To Open A Bank Account That Supports SEPA Instant Payments?
Opening a bank account in Europe is not an easy task nowadays due to strict compliance and regulatory requirements. Especially if business has non-resident directors, which is a topic on its own, we covered it extensively here.
However, there are plenty of digital banks that are ready to offer SEPA Instant Payments for your business both in the EU and UK. If you would like to receive an up to date list of such banks, please reach out via a contact form and we will send it to you by email.
Moving on, it is important to understand and distinguish which is important for your business: payins or payouts.
Majority of financial institutions that are SEPA participants will be able to credit SEPA instant payments that are incoming (payins). Especially if such payment is coming from the Euro Area and the sending institution is a direct SEPA participant (not using a correspondent bank).
On the other hand, for the outgoing payments (payouts), the financial institution that is being used to make such SEPA Instant payment, has to be a direct participant of SEPA Instant Payment Scheme. Tricky thing is that a bank can be a SEPA participant and capable of regular SEPA payments but not SEPA Instant Payment Scheme participant.
On a positive note, we are working with more than 10 banking intuitions that are direct SEPA Instant Payment Scheme participants and can enable any type of business with crediting SEPA Instant payments and sending them to clients and other related counterparts. Do not hesitate to ask us about it and we will come back to you in few business days.
Conclusion
In conclusion, adding SEPA Instant Payments for your business can significantly transform the efficiency of financial transactions, offering quick pay-ins and pay-outs that cater to your specific business needs. Opening a bank account that supports SEPA Instant Payments, especially with the assistance of digital banks, can streamline your financial operations and enhance cash flow management.