SEPA

The Single Euro Payments Area  (SEPA) stands for a European Union (EU) payments integration initiative aiming at establishing a unique payment system for fast and secure payments wth equal standards, formats and rules in the manner of effectign payments.

The SEPA area includes

36 countries – all members of EU: Austrija, Belgija, Bugarska, Cipar, Češka, Danska, Estonija, Finska, Francuska, Grčka, Hrvatska, Irska, Italija, Latvija, Litva, Luksenburg, Mađarska, Malta, Nizozemska, Njemačka, Poljska, Portugal, Rumunjska, Slovačka, Slovenija, Španjolska, Švedska te Island, Lihtejnštajn, Norveška, Švicarska, Monako, San Marino, Andora, Vatikan.

SEPA regulations for payment transactions

The Payer and the payee are within the single Euro Payments Area.
Currency: EUR

The impact of SEPA

SEPA has direct impact on the Payers (payment initiators), Payees (payment beneficiaries) and Payment Service Providers (banks, payment transaction institution)

Prerequisites for sending and receiving payment orders in the SEPA standards:

The use of IBAN as the payment account identifier is mandatory.

Use of payment transaction formats as of 06/06/2016

HUB 3 form- no changes to the HUB 3 form to be submitted on paper form at the bank counter.
Changes in the bulk payments database - instead of the existing payment database for electronic payments, the bank will receive only credit transfers in XML 20022 format - pain.001 message.
SEPA pain.001 messages are used for all payments in euro and other currencies, which payments are plaved electronically or submitted at a bank teller´s counter in the form of a database.

Credit transfer (message pain.001 - format ISO 20022 XML)

A payment order initiated by the Payer towards their Payment Service Providers (bank) which the bank transfers to credit the Payee.
It is used as the ISO 20022 XML format (replacement for the bulk payment order).
The message pain.001 contains a group of data referring to the respective buly payment order (mostly optional fields).
For salary disbursement within the framework of the mentioned message pain.001, no Specification is required, but only selecting of a special mark for salary disbursement.

Basic rules for implementation of SEPA file with Batch Booking group of orders can be found here.

Reporting messages (notifications and statements)

The SEPA allows clients to receive various types of reports containing a wider set of data and information with respect to the existing reports.If a client wishes to input the statements and notifications in the SEPA format into their system, the client´s system will require technical adjustments..
Types of SEPA messages in the XML format:
Message pain.002 - notification of rejected payment orders from the pain.001 database placed through electronic banking.
Message camt.053 - account statement - corresponds to the SWIFT format MT 940. 
Poruka camt.052 - Intra-day account statement - corresponds to the SWIFT format MT 941/942, contains data on movements and balance in the account during the day..
Camt. messages contain items of return and positive reply to apayment order recall.

Detailed rules and instructions

Detailed rules and instructions can be found on official web site www.sepa.hr.

Private individuals

Private individuals (consumers) effect all payment orders at a teller´s counter or through the internet banking just as they have done so far.

Business entities

Business entities (commercial companies, craftspeople, agricultural professionals and free professioanls) who use bulk payment order databases for electronic payments, will need to adjust their system for creating databases in the new XML 20022 format.
• if you input your information technology system the new types of reporting messages (pain.002 and camt.053/052), system adjustment must be performed in keeping with the prescribed SEPA schemes for accepting and inputting the respective messages.
• verify whether the invoices you deliver to your business partners contain the required information: IBAN and BIC.

Banks

Banks, payment systems and other Payment Service Providers adjust their systems and IT solutions so as to be in alignment with the SEPA standards.
The required documentation and the final formats are available on the official SEPA web site.