List of definitions

See below for a brief explanation of the most common SEPA abbreviations. 
 

BIC

Bank Identifier Code. A unique code to identify a bank - used when SWIFT messages are sent to or from banks.

EBA

Euro Banking Association. A joint bank organisation which handle Euro clearing and settlement.

EEA

European Economic Area

EPC

European Payments Council. A European co-operation organisation for banks within SEPA.

ERP

ERP stands for "Enterprise Resource Planning." ERP software is a system that allows medium-to-large businesses to automate their distribution, financial, human resources, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and project management functions.

IBAN

International Bank Account Number. A standardised account number structure for euro payments within the EU/EEA.

ISO 20022

A standard developed by the International Organization of Standardisation. ”ISO 20022 – Universal Financial Industry Message” is a platform for developing types of messages for the financial world.

PSD

Payment Service Directive that provides the legal foundation for the creation of an EU-wide single market for payments.

SEPA

Single Euro Payments Area. A project being run by the banks in Europe, together with the EU and the European Central Bank, with the aim of harmonising the payments market in Europe.

XML

eXtensible Markup Language, A structured way to manage information between systems