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SCT — SEPA Credit Transfer

What is a SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT), how does it work and how long does it take? The core scheme behind a standard euro transfer.

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Updated:

SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) is the standard bank transfer in euro within the SEPA area. The payer sends the amount using the recipient’s IBAN; the transaction is treated like a domestic transfer between participating countries.

Key features

  • Currency: Euro only.
  • Identifier: The recipient’s IBAN (in most cases a BIC is not required).
  • Time: The amount reaches the recipient’s bank by the next banking day at the latest (D+1).
  • Charges: Usually SHA (shared); there are no intermediary bank charges.

When is it used?

When the payment is in euro and both parties are within SEPA, SCT is the most common method. If instant delivery is required, SCT Instant is preferred.

SCT times are estimates; public holidays and bank cut-off times can affect the duration.

Sources

Confidence is graded from A (official document) to E (unverified).

SEPA scheme rulebooks & geographical scope

European Payments Council (EPC)

A
Document date:
2025
Last checked:
2026-07-16

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