Sometimes, you can take it slow. Other times, things can't go fast enough - including transfers. Instant Payments (SEPA) are a convenient way to transfer money in almost real-time within the European Union and the European Economic Area (i.e. all EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein & Norway). Please read further to find out what Instant Payment (SEPA) is, how it works & what to consider.
Instant Payments (SEPA) with George Business
Last Article Update 11.06.2025
Instant Payments (SEPA) are available 24/7, 365 days a year. This payment type is a close-to-immediate (i.e. within a few seconds) payment, transferring the desired amount of money (up to 100,000 Euros) to a dedicated account within the European payment area (SEPA: Single Euro Payments Area).
As Instant Payments (SEPA) are only available within the European Union, George can only execute
- Domestic transfers,
- Foreign transfers within the European Union, and
- Tax authority payments
as Instant Payments (SEPA). All transfer types must be executed with the Euro as the currency!
What is the Single Euro Payments Area?
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) currently consists of 36 countries, amongst them all 27 EU member states. SEPA's goal is to unify cashless payments in Euro amongst whithin the area. Basically, a SEPA transfer works the same way as a domestic transfer. The country doesn't need to have EUR as a currency to take part in SEPA, as long as the transfer is done in EUR.
Of course, that means that if an international transfer even within the SEPA area is done in another currency than EUR, it automatically becomes a foreign transfer (non-SEPA). Also, transfers to countries outside of SEPA, will always be foreign transfers (non-SEPA).
As of 2022, the following countries are part of SEPA:
Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France (incl. oversea departments)
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland 
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxemburg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal (incl. Azores and Madeira)
Romania
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain (incl. Canary Island, Ceuta and Melilla)
Sweden
Switzerland
Vatican
United Kingdom (incl. Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man)
For more information about Instant Payments (SEPA), respectively SEPA Instant Credit Transfers, George recommends the Website of the Austrian National Bank.
How to Use Instant Payment (SEPA)
1. Create a new transfer (domestic or within the European Union), or a new tax authority payment.
2. Fill the transfer form as you would usually do.
3. Below the transfer date, you will find the item "Execution type". Click on the checkbox to activate Instant Payment (SEPA). You can also set a date in the future and George will execute this transfer as instant payment on the selected day at 03:00 a.m.
4. In the next step, sign your transfer. If the transfer can be executed as Instant Payment (SEPA), George will do so. Otherwise, he will execute your transfer as a regular SEPA transfer.
Of course, you can also save this Instant Payment (SEPA) transfer as a template to reuse it at a later time.
Author: Samira El-Shamy