SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is the area where citizens and companies can make and receive payments in euros. SEPA is made up of the Eurozone countries and a few other countries which also support Euro bank transfers. You can find the full list of 34 countries here.
Within SEPA lies the SEPA scheme, which is a set of rules that are followed by the participants in moving funds electronically from account A to account B.
IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number, which consists of a maximum of 34 alphanumeric characters: the ISO country code + 2 digits of a control key + up to 30 characters for the bank account number (e.g. for Germany: DE44 5111 0517 5707 8449 37). An IBAN is different from a SWIFT code (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) as it identifies an individual account involved in the cross-border payment. A SWIFT code helps overseas banks to identify which specific bank to send money to.
The main advantage of IBAN is the fast processing of electronic transactions with minimum delays and extra costs which reduces the risk of propagating transcription errors.
Verify your TRASTRA account and order TRASTRA Visa Card to get a Payment Account with IBAN and the opportunity to take advantage of simple SEPA/wire payments! Buy and sell cryptocurrency using bank transfers on market rates. (Figure 1-1).
Information on how to verify TRASTRA Account can be found here.
Major benefits of using TRASTRA Payment Account account are:
No fees for receiving SEPA payments (regardless of the amount). The full list of the SEPA zone countries can be found here.
Superior security and acceleration of the transfer of funds with automated payment processing. If for some reason the funds do not reach the recipient, they will be returned to the sender’s account right away.
Skrill, eBay, PayPal, and many other similar services support SEPA/wire transfers. So you can transfer money from anywhere.
SEPA payments highlights
Cross-functionality
With SEPA there is no difference between national and cross-border payments. The new harmonized SEPA payment scheme allows customers to exchange payments between any accounts located within the EEA: securely, efficiently, and more cost-effectively.
Streamlining payments in Europe
Usually, it takes 1-4 business days to credit funds to the beneficiary’s bank. It depends heavily on the time of day you start your transfer as there is a 3 PM cut-off time for same-day processing. Requests received after this time will be processed on the following banking day.
Currencies are supported for SEPA transfers
A Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) transfer is a cross-border payment to a person/organisation in the SEPA zone.
SEPA transactions can only be processed in EUR (euro).
Countries are in the SEPA zone
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is a European Union regulatory initiative.
There are 36 countries in the SEPA zone: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, San Marino, Andorra, Vatican City State, and the United Kingdom.
Limits to incoming transfers
Currently, the maximum TRASTRA card balance is 8000 euros. Thus, an incoming transfer shouldn’t allow your card balance to exceed this amount.
Some transactions may be manually monitored, and additional information may be requested on the sources of the funds. In case of any suspicious activity in the account, you will be asked to verify your identity via compliance procedure according to the TRASTRA regulations and ensuring better account security. We constantly look for better ways to provide maximum security for our clients!
FAQs
Can I receive a transfer from another person’s bank account?
Yes, you can accept IBAN Euro transfers. In order to receive wire transfers from another person’s bank account, please check your IBAN account credentials as soon as you activate the card in the Deposit Funds section of the dashboard. Here you can find a detailed guide.
Can I make transfers to any bank account?
IBAN transfers to bank accounts are currently unavailable in TRASTRA, but we are working on the implementation of this option for our customers.
There are other ways available to withdraw funds from your TRASTRA account. To find more information about withdrawal options please click here.
How long does it take to transfer money with TRASTRA?
SEPA transfers may take 1-2 bank business days (once your bank has confirmed the cross-border transaction). Usually, most SEPA transfers are credited the next morning if the payment was done before 4–5 PM (if both days are banking days). Also, there are some SEPA holidays that are not public holidays in all SEPA countries.
International wire transfers may take longer. If you’re sending funds from another country, it may take up to 5 business days for the recipient to receive the transfer.
For information on how to receive IBAN transfers, please read this article.
What can I do if I transferred money to the wrong account?
If you made a wire transfer to the wrong account, please contact the sending bank Support Department immediately.
Can I recall or cancel a completed transfer?
You can possibly recall/cancel a completed wire transfer only through your sending bank.
Before you do it, please contact our Support Team with any questions (email: [email protected]) during the first 10 days after the transaction has been sent. We will clarify the details and let you know if the payment reached your account.
Note: The service may require an additional payment from your sending bank. Please ask your sending bank about their prices.
I didn’t receive a bank transfer. What should I do?
Before you make a bank/wire or SEPA transfer, please make sure that:
- You entered the details correctly
- Your country is in the SEPA zone (for SEPA transfers). The full list of the SEPA zone countries can be found here.
- Your country has no any limitations/sanctions for making international transfers (for wire transfers).
- The most common reasons why the payments may fail:
- A transfer was made with wrong details (wrong account holder name or account number, etc.). In this case, the bank may take an additional charge for the transaction refund.
- Please bear in mind, wire transfers (both SEPA and International) can be processed only in EUR.
- If you used SEPA credentials for international bank transfers, please double-check it with your bank.
