SEPA Payments: How to Get Paid in Euros Across Europe

SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) standardises euro transfers across Europe. If you bill in EUR, SEPA is usually how you get paid.

What SEPA gives you

A SEPA transfer moves euros between accounts across Europe at domestic speed and cost, using the IBAN. Your EUR QR-bill is executed as a SEPA payment.

SEPA unifies euro payments so a transfer to another SEPA country costs the same and clears as fast as a domestic one. The IBAN is the key that makes it work.

A euro-denominated QR-bill issued by a Swiss bank is executed as a SEPA payment. That means your familiar QR-bill reaches euro clients through the same rail.

For a Swiss business billing in EUR, SEPA removes the old friction of expensive and slow cross-border transfers. Getting paid in euros becomes a routine, low-cost event.

• Fast, low-cost euro transfers.
• Uses the IBAN.
• Your EUR QR-bill is a SEPA payment.

What you need

A euro-capable account and the correct IBAN are all you need to receive SEPA payments. No special setup is required beyond having the account.

Check that your bank account can hold and receive euros. Most Swiss banks offer a euro account or a euro sub-account for exactly this purpose.

Share the correct EUR IBAN on every euro invoice. The IBAN embeds the account and bank details, so the client does not need a separate BIC in most cases.

Confirm with your bank whether there are receiving fees for SEPA payments, so you can price or communicate them clearly rather than discovering them after the fact.

• A euro-capable account.
• The correct EUR IBAN.
• Clarity on any receiving fees.

Use it for EUR invoices

Put the EUR IBAN directly on the invoice, ideally through a euro QR-bill. Giving the client the exact account to pay removes guesswork and back-and-forth.

Do not mix a CHF account on a euro invoice. A euro payment sent to a CHF IBAN can be rejected or converted at an unfavourable rate, adding cost and delay.

Test the first payment from a new euro client and confirm it arrives as expected. One successful test beats assuming the details are right.

• Show the EUR IBAN on the invoice.
• Use a euro QR-bill where possible.
• Test the first payment.

Avoid the traps

Watch out for currency conversion when money crosses between your EUR and CHF accounts. Decide in advance where the conversion happens and what it costs.

If you need euros converted to CHF, compare your bank’s rate with alternatives for larger amounts. The difference on a large invoice can be material.

Keep euro balances separate if you also pay euro suppliers, so you are not converting money back and forth and paying the spread twice.

Set expectations with clients about who bears any conversion or transfer cost. A clear term avoids a small deduction that surprises both of you later.