United Kingdom — SEPA and IBAN Guide

Note: It has remained within the SEPA geographical scope even after Brexit.

United Kingdom and SEPA: general status

United Kingdom is within the SEPA geographical scope but its official currency is not the euro. This distinction matters in practice: when sending or receiving euros from an account in United Kingdom, a currency conversion between the local currency and the euro is needed. In that case the real cost is often not the transfer fee but the exchange-rate margin the bank applies. Being within SEPA scope standardises the transaction but does not remove the need for currency conversion.

UK IBANs are 22 characters.

The official currency is the British pound (GBP); euro transactions may be within SEPA scope.

Leaving the EU did not end SEPA participation.

United Kingdom IBAN structure

United Kingdom IBANs are 22 characters long. The structure consists of the following parts: the first 2 characters are the country code (GB), the next 2 characters are the check digits (calculated with the MOD-97 algorithm) and the remaining 18 characters are the country-specific national part (BBAN) — containing fields such as the bank code, branch code and account number. You can check the structural validity of a GB IBAN with the IBAN validation tool. Remember: a mathematically valid IBAN does not prove that the account actually exists or is active.

Sending and receiving euros with United Kingdom

Although United Kingdom is within SEPA scope, because it does not use the euro, the main cost item of sending/receiving euros here is often the exchange-rate margin. To measure the exchange-rate margin and compare alternatives, use the bank exchange-rate margin and euro currency-cost tools. If you make regular euro transactions, a euro account can reduce the recurring conversion cost.

To see whether a transfer will actually be SEPA or SWIFT, the estimated total cost and the amount that will reach the recipient, you can use the SEPA Route & Real Cost Calculator. The results are for information only and must be verified with the relevant bank before giving a payment instruction.

Institutions registered in the SEPA schemes in United Kingdom

According to the European Payments Council (EPC) official participant register, 102 payment institutions (banks/PSPs) in United Kingdom are registered in at least one SEPA scheme (data version: 2026-06-12). Scheme breakdown:

Important: being registered in a scheme does not mean the institution offers the service to all its customers (scheme participation ≠ customer availability ≠ operational status). You can search all participants by name or BIC in the EPC Participant Lookup tool.

Summary

United Kingdom is within the SEPA geographical scope and does not use the euro. For this reason, in euro transactions the currency conversion and the exchange-rate margin can be the decisive item of the total cost. The exact fees, limits and operational conditions vary by bank; uncertain information is marked as "Not verified" on this site.