EPC participant data, August 2026: being in a SEPA country does not mean instant payments
Published:
Author: SEPA.tr — Editorial
Data date: 7 August 2026 (EPC196-26 v1.0) · Confidence level: A (official EPC document)
The European Payments Council’s (EPC) scheme adherence overview shows, in numbers, the gap between SEPA’s coverage on paper and actual bank participation.
SEPA as a whole (7 August 2026)
| Scheme | Registered participants |
|---|---|
| SCT (standard SEPA credit transfer) | 3,545 |
| SCT Inst (instant SEPA credit transfer) | 2,837 |
| SDD Core (direct debit, consumer) | 2,782 |
| SDD B2B (direct debit, business) | 2,328 |
| OCT Inst (instant transfer with one leg outside SEPA) | 98 |
In the euro area, 2,962 participants are registered for SCT and 2,744 for SCT Inst. Instant payments are widespread in the euro area, where the EU Instant Payments Regulation makes them mandatory. Outside the euro area the picture is different.
New SEPA countries outside the EU/EEA
| Country | SCT | SCT Inst | SDD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| North Macedonia | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Albania | 13 | 1 | 1 (SDD Core) |
| Montenegro | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Moldova | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Examples from other non-euro SEPA countries
| Country | SCT | SCT Inst |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 183 | 4 |
| United Kingdom | 99 | 44 |
| Norway | 83 | 1 |
| Poland | 25 | 7 |
| Romania | 17 | 4 |
| Sweden | 11 | 6 |
What the data shows
- Country in SEPA ≠ bank in SEPA. A country being in SEPA’s geographical scope does not mean every bank there has joined the schemes.
- SCT ≠ SCT Inst. Standard SEPA transfers have started in the Western Balkans and Moldova, but instant SEPA is almost absent. An “instant” euro transfer to these countries may be sent by the bank as a standard SCT or rejected.
- Scheme participation ≠ customer product. The EPC list shows scheme participation. Whether a bank offers the service to every customer group and channel is a separate question.
- Country counts follow the EPC document’s own country/territory classification. Institution counts may include branches and separately registered entities.
Check for yourself
Look up which schemes a specific bank is registered for with our EPC participant lookup. Instant payments comparison: SEPA Instant bank comparison