Charge Sharing: OUR / SHA / BEN and the SLEV Difference in SEPA

When sending euros abroad, your bank usually offers you a "charge-sharing" option: OUR, SHA or BEN. These three codes determine who will bear the bank charges that may arise during the transaction. But these options are not universal — they apply only to SWIFT (international correspondent banking) transfers. SEPA SCT (a single-area euro transfer) works with a completely different charge logic. Below we explain first OUR/SHA/BEN, then the SLEV rule in SEPA, and the practical consequences for Turkey.

SWIFT charge sharing: OUR, SHA, BEN

A SWIFT transfer usually passes through more than one bank: the sending bank, one or several intermediary (correspondent) banks and the recipient bank. Each bank in this chain can charge a fee. OUR/SHA/BEN specify who will bear these fees:

• OUR — All charges on the sender. The sender aims to bear the intermediary bank and recipient bank charges as well as its own bank's fee. The goal is for the recipient to receive the whole (or very nearly the whole) of the instructed amount. The extra cost falls on the sender, and not every bank/corridor may support OUR.
• SHA (shared) — Charges are shared. The sender pays only its own bank's fee; the intermediary bank and recipient bank charges are deducted from the incoming amount. It is the most common default option, but the recipient may receive less than what was sent.
• BEN (beneficiary) — All charges on the recipient. All fees in the chain, including the sender's, are deducted from the sent amount; the recipient receives what is left after the charges.

Option	Who pays the charges?	Amount reaching the recipient	Typical use
OUR	The sender (aims for own + intermediary + recipient bank charges)	Closest to the full amount	When it matters that the recipient receives the net amount (invoice, rent, salary)
SHA	The sender its own bank; the recipient the intermediary + recipient bank charges	Depends on deductions, can be short	The common default; transactions that share the cost
BEN	All charges deducted from the recipient	The lowest (all fees deducted)	Cases where the sender wants no charges at all

An important caveat: even if OUR is chosen, some intermediary banks may still deduct in practice, so it is not guaranteed that the recipient will receive the "full amount". The exact outcome varies by bank, corridor and correspondent chain.

The situation is different in SEPA: the SLEV rule

SEPA SCT (SEPA Credit Transfer) is a single-currency (euro only) and single-scheme system; there is no variable correspondent bank chain and charge-sharing negotiation as in SWIFT. For this reason, there is no OUR/SHA/BEN choice in SEPA. SEPA's charge rule is expressed in ISO 20022 messages as SLEV (service level — not "SHARE", but "SLEV"): each party pays only its own bank's fee.

In practice this means: the sender pays its own bank's transfer fee (if any), and the recipient pays the fee its own bank charges (if any). In a genuine SEPA SCT transaction, an intermediary bank deduction typically does not arise. Still, this does not mean "SEPA is free": even though the instructed amount itself is transmitted without deduction, the transfer fee the bank applies varies by account/plan/national regulation. Also, a definitive statement such as "SEPA involves no intermediary bank charge or exchange-rate margin" is not correct in all cases: a currency conversion done before or after SEPA (e.g. sending from a non-euro account) is a separate cost item and is not included in the instructed amount.

In short: OUR/SHA/BEN is a SWIFT concept and does not apply to SEPA SCT. A bank asking you "OUR or SHA?" in a SEPA transfer is not expected; if such a choice appears, the transaction is most likely actually falling back to SWIFT.

For Turkey: why does OUR/SHA/BEN concern you?

Because Turkey is outside SEPA today, euro transfers between Turkey and Europe usually run not with SEPA but with SWIFT. This means the OUR/SHA/BEN choice directly concerns senders and recipients in Turkey:

• When sending from Turkey to Europe: If you choose SHA, because the intermediary and recipient bank charges can be deducted from the incoming amount, the recipient may receive less than you sent. If it matters that the recipient receives the full amount (rent, school fees, supplier payment), consider OUR — but this can create an extra cost for you.
• When receiving from Europe to Turkey: If the sender chose SHA, the recipient bank's incoming transfer fee in Turkey and (if the account is in TRY) the exchange-rate margin can reduce the incoming amount. Discussing OUR with the sender can increase the amount the recipient receives.

When making a choice, it is healthiest to see the difference between the "amount sent" and the "amount the recipient receives" in advance. To estimate this difference, you can use the How much reaches the recipient tool; and to understand whether the transaction will be SEPA or SWIFT, see the SEPA or SWIFT? page.

Summary

OUR/SHA/BEN are three options that determine who will pay the charges in a SWIFT transfer: in OUR the sender aims for all of them, in SHA the charges are shared, in BEN all are deducted from the recipient. In SEPA SCT there is no such choice; the charge rule is SLEV and each party pays only its own bank's fee — in a genuine SEPA transaction an intermediary bank deduction typically does not arise, but fees vary by bank and plan. Because Turkey today relies largely on SWIFT, the OUR/SHA/BEN choice is still important for the Turkish user; in particular, keep in mind the possibility of the recipient receiving less under SHA.