Is Switzerland a SEPA country (Is Switzerland part of SEPA)?

12 Apr 2022 By PAYCEC

YES. Although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, the nation is a member of SEPA payment schemes. Therefore, payment instructions and banking transactions in Switzerland are similar to other EU countries within the SEPA Schemes’ Geographical Scope.

Within the SEPA, SEPA transfers can be utilized to perform euro transactions. E-banking, datalink, and SWIFT services are all available for transfers.

Because SEPA transactions are a standardized money transfer method, Swiss banks typically undertake them for free or at a substantially lower cost than foreign currency transfers.

A SEPA transaction must meet the following criteria:

• Payments in euro
• IBAN of the account to which money is being transferred
• BIC of the bank to which money is being transferred (bank must be SEPA compatible)
• Shared (SHA) billing is used: fees are shared between the sender and the recipient

Important: If a transaction does not match the above requirements, it will be executed as a normal international transfer, which is typically far more expensive.

Standard IBAN Format in Switzerland

The IBAN for Switzerland is shown below. It has a total of 21 characters. A thorough breakdown of the IBAN structure in Switzerland can be seen below.

• 2 letters ISO country code
• 2 digits IBAN check digits
• 5 digits bank code
• 12 characters account number

CH	93 00762 011623852957
Country	CH
IBAN Checksum	93
Bank Code	00762
Account Number	011623852957