If you are sending or receiving Money from some of the countries Of the European Union or Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Great Britain, from now on you no longer have to wait a few days for the transaction, and the payment commission is lower.
This was made possible by the beginning of the implementation of the SEPA system in Serbia, the single European area for payments in evrima - for now through the first, basic segment of this system. In practice, this means that citizens and companies can now send and receive money from other member countries of this system according to simpler rules, with shorter deadlines and lower costs than before.
Shorter and cheaper
Specifically, SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT), i.e. standard credit transfers in euros, is now operating in Serbia. Banks in Serbia from May 5, they can receive and execute such orders, so money to and from the countries of the SEPA area now arrives no later than the next working day, and often the same day.
This changes the previous practice in which international payments often went through several intermediary banks, so they took longer and were more expensive. In the SEPA system, the rules are standardized and transactions are processed more directly, which is why the costs are lower, although the specific fees are still determined by the banks.
Remittances from abroad now arrive faster and at lower costs, while sending money to Europe is simpler than before.
For companies in Serbia, this will mean easier payment to suppliers and faster receipt of money from clients from the SEPA area, which will contribute to reducing business costs.
The amount of fees for transactions will be determined by each bank individually, in accordance with the applicable legislation of the specific country and its service tariff.
Iz National Bank of Serbia have previously stated that neither the citizens nor the economy will have additional obligations, nor will any special adjustment be necessary.
What is SEPA?
SEPA functions as a single area in which non-cash payments in euros are made under the same rules, regardless of whether it is a domestic or cross-border transaction. 41 countries participate in this system, among which all are members of the European Union, but also countries that are not part of the EU or the Eurozone, such as Switzerland and Great Britain.
Serbia officially became a member of this system last year, and since April of this year, the National Bank of Serbia and commercial banks have been registered in the register of participants, thus meeting the conditions for the start of implementation.
Entry into the SEPA area enabled banks to join the SEPA payment schemes and to perform their payment services in euros in accordance with the unique rules and standards valid within the SEPA payment schemes.
In practice, this means that payments in euros will be made in the same way, according to the same technical and business rules, regardless of whether the transaction is executed within one country or between different member countries of the SEPA area.
SEPA applies exclusively to transactions in euros abroad.
The first of three steps
The SEPA system has three schemes - the aforementioned credit transfers, which are now also applied in Serbia, instant credit transfers and direct debits.
The implementation of the next two schemes is planned in Serbia in a year and will enable, among other things, the transfer of money in seconds.
Serbia became the 41st member of the SEPA system last year, and Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia recently joined it.
Source: Kamatica/Beta/SEPA
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