SEPA and Turkey payment developments, with sources.
SWIFT (27 August) and the EPC (9 September 2026) postponed the November 2026 end date for fully unstructured addresses; the ECB moved its T2 release to 28 November. No new date yet — what changes for people sending euros?
According to the National Bank of Moldova's data of 10 August 2026, about 960,000 SEPA transfers have been made since 6 October 2025. The average fee fell from €20–150 to €1.09; the same volume via SWIFT would have cost about €14.2 million.
According to the EPC's scheme adherence overview of 7 August 2026, 3,545 institutions are registered for SCT and 2,837 for SCT Inst across SEPA. SCT participation has started in the Western Balkans and Moldova, but instant (SCT Inst) participation is almost non-existent.
The first field data on Verification of Payee, mandatory since October 2025, has been published: an analysis of 180 million transactions found 66% exact matches and 19% no-matches. The EPC's VoP rulebook v1.1 and API Security Framework v2.1 updates take effect on 20 September 2026.
The ECB and the central banks of Denmark and Sweden activated the instant cross-currency payment service on TIPS in June 2026, covering EUR, DKK and SEK. Payment and conversion settle in one step, in central bank money.
According to EU-sourced data, ~829,000 SEPA transactions were processed in Moldova between October 2025 and June 2026; total fees were ~€917k — the same volume via SWIFT would have cost ~€12.5 million. The World Bank reported cost drops of up to tenfold in the Western Balkans.
The EP's ECON committee approved the draft digital euro regulation on 23 June 2026; the institutions aim to conclude negotiations by the end of 2026. The ECB's preparation phase closed in October 2025; the target mentioned for a possible first issuance is 2029.
In Bulgaria, which adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, the last consumer-facing transition obligation — mandatory dual price display (lev + euro) — ended on 8 August 2026. Euro transfers to Bulgaria are now standard SEPA transactions.
The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) announced on 6 August 2026 that the country's application to join the SEPA geographical scope has been formally submitted. The application is under EPC review; the first SEPA transactions are expected no earlier than 6 months after a possible admission.
On 2 July 2026, Turkey officially submitted its letter of intent to join SEPA to the European Payments Council (EPC). This is the start of the process — it is not membership or acceptance.
The first version of SEPA.tr, offering free tools and sourced information for SEPA, IBAN, BIC/SWIFT and euro payments, has been published.
According to the European Commission's statement of 5 May 2026, 18 Serbian banks officially joined the SEPA schemes; this opens the way for faster and cheaper euro transactions between Serbia and the eurozone.
According to the European Commission's statement of 16 October 2025, 40 banks from these four countries officially joined the SEPA schemes — SEPA's first opening to Enlargement partners.
