SEPA (or the Single Euro Payments Area) is the new format for cross-border euro (EUR) bank transfers.
SEPA aims to make cross-border EUR transfers within this area equivalent to a domestic transfer within your own country.
SEPA is made up of the Eurozone, countries within the EU and a few other countries which also support EUR bank transfers. The full list can be found here.
But your EUR account is in another country
Per EU regulations, transfers between bank accounts in two different SEPA countries shouldn’t cost any more than a regular, local transfer. Some banks, mostly Italian or Spanish, will still find ways to charge you extra. So, you can try paying for your transfers a different way — for example, by debit card or Trustly.
Once your bank sends the bank transfer, your money should arrive to Wise within 1–2 working days.
Wise has two EUR accounts, based in Estonia and Belgium. They are both SEPA-compliant.
Receiving EUR from Wise
As Wise sends EUR by SEPA transfer, there shouldn’t be any receiving fees. However, while banks shouldn’t charge for receiving SEPA payments, unfortunately there is a very small number that may still do so. Wise can’t tell which banks do or don’t charge beforehand, so if you are unsure about this, it is worth checking with the receiving bank.
Once sent out, the recipient of a EUR transfer should receive the money within 1–2 working days.