SEPA Payments and International Payments
When you want to send a payment to your friend in another bank there are two options:
1. An International payment
2. A Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Payment
International Payments
An International payment is sent through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network.
What is SWIFT?
SWIFT stands for the Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, it is a system that allows all banks that are signed up to the system to speak with each other. This is how banks send and receive payments safe and securely.
Money doesn’t physically move from one bank to another. A SWIFT message tells the receiving bank to put the money you sent into their customer’s account.
This is done by both banks having an account with each other. Once two banks have an agreement, they can send and receive payments between each other.
Example one:
Anna wants to send her niece Rebecca, in America, a birthday present of $50. Rebecca’s account is with Bank of America. AIB has an agreement with Bank of America so we can send the message directly to Bank of America. We take the money from Anna’s account then send the message to Bank of America who will take the money from our account with them and put the money into Rebecca’s account.
If we do not have an agreement with a particular bank, the message has to go to a bank that we do have an agreement with. These banks are called “intermediary banks”.
Example two:
Tim is sending money to his son Brian in Australia to help buy a car. Brian’s account is with a small credit union in Sydney called Cape Breton. We do not have an agreement with this credit union so we must find a bank that does.
We have an agreement with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and it has a relationship with Brian’s credit union branch. So we send a swift message to Commonwealth Bank of Australia and place money in their account. Commonwealth Bank then send a swift message to Cape Breton Credit Union who can then pass the money into Brian’s account.
Due to how manual the process is, each of these banks may charge for passing along the payment.
The charge is known as “intermediary charges” and can differ from bank to bank and range from anywhere between €0- €70 or more depending on each bank.
There is no limit to the number of intermediary banks which can be involved in getting the money to Brian’s credit union. Each of these banks may also charge for passing on the money.
Intermediary charge explained
We offer two options of how to pay for the intermediary charges.
’Sender’: Choose the ‘Sender’ option when you need the full amount of the payment to reach the beneficiary’s account and you are prepared to accept any charges by the intermediary bank and the receiver’s bank. You can only use the ‘Sender’ charging option can when you use a Paylink Standard or Urgent payment on IBB or a paper form. You can’t use it when paying to EEA Countries or through AIB Internet Banking and AIB Kiosk Banking.
Example one:
Let’s go back to Anna wanting to send Rebecca $50. Anna wants Rebecca to get all $50, so she picks the ‘Sender’ option. This means Anna has paid our charge for this payment along with Bank of America’s charge at a later date. Rebecca has received the full $50.
Example two:
Using the same example as above, Anna is sending Rebecca $50, but this time Anna picks the Shared option. Anna pays our charge for this payments and her niece Rebecca pays Bank of America’s charge meaning she may have received less than $50. ie. $40.
‘Shared’ – The ‘Shared’ charging option is used when our fees are paid by the ‘Sender’ and all other charges (intermediary and/or Beneficiary bank charges) are paid by the person receiving the money.
Intermediary bank charges can range between €0 - €70
SEPA Payments
SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments Area. A SEPA payment is sent through the SEPA Scheme. The SEPA payment scheme was created to simplify international euro transfers between EU member states.
The SEPA scheme consists of the 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino and United Kingdom. There are a number of additional SEPA zone territories, which tend to change periodically.
To make a SEPA payment you need:
1. The IBAN of the person you want to pay
2. The bank to which you are sending the payment to be a member of the SEPA scheme
3. The payment to be in euro
Example one:
Let’s say Anna wants to send €50 to her other niece, Sarah in France. Sarah’s bank in France is a member of the SEPA scheme and Anna has her IBAN. We will take €50 from Anna’s account and put it in a central account held with the SEPA scheme. Sarah’s bank will then take the money from this central account and put it in Sarah’s account.
If you do a SEPA payment before 14:00 with us the payment will get there the same day.
If you make this payment after 14:00 the payment will get there the next business day.
A transaction fee may be applied to payments, both International and SEPA. For more information on transaction fees please review our Fees and Charges Booklet
SEPA Payments are now available on the mobile app to SEPA reachable countries within the European Economic Area.
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Here’s how you can make a SEPA payment on internet and mobile banking:
SEPA Payments are now available on the mobile app to SEPA reachable countries within the European Economic Area.
Here’s how you can make a SEPA payment on internet and mobile banking:
Internet banking
You will need a card reader for this service if you are paying to a new account.
1. Log into internet banking.
2. Select ‘Pay & Transfer’.
3. Select ‘To Another Irish Account’ or ‘International SEPA Payment’.
To another Irish account
1. Select the account you wish debit and the message you want to appear on your statement.
2. Select saved payee or new payment.
3. Enter receiver account details.
4. Follow the card reader instructions (if paying to a new account).
5. Confirm details.
International SEPA payment (You will need a card reader for this)
1. Select pay and transfer and choose the international payment option.
2. Select EURO as the currency.
3. Select the receivers bank country.
1. Select payment type ‘standard’.
2. Select the account you wish debit and the message you want to appear on your statement.
4. Enter receiver account details.
5. Please select the most appropriate reason for the payment. This is to safeguard you against fraud.
6. Enter sender’s reference.
7. Follow card reader instructions.
8. Confirm the payment.
Mobile banking
1. Log into mobile banking.
2. Select ‘Pay & Transfer’.
3. Select ‘Pay another account’.
4. Select which account you want to take the payment from.
5. *Select the person you want to pay or select ‘Make a once off payment’ and enter the payment details.
6. Confirm the payment.*Please note you cannot save a new payee in mobile banking; however, you can make a once off payment.
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How do I make an International Payment?
You can make an international payment on internet banking with these steps:
1. Log into internet, mobile or tablet banking.
2. Select ‘Pay & Transfer’.
3. Select ‘International Payment’.
4. Select your currency, the country of the person you are paying and whether you want the payment to go as standard or urgent.
5. Select the account you want to take the money from.
6. Enter the details of the person you are paying, the amount and the purpose of payment.
7. Enter the Business Identifier Code (BIC) or bank address of the person you are paying.
8. Confirm the payment.
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What information do I need to make an Outgoing International Payment?
In order to ensure that your outgoing international payment is made correctly you should have the following minimum information:
(a) The name and address of the Receiver to whom you are transferring the funds.
(b) Either the BIC or the full name and address of the foreign bank branch at which the Receiver maintains their bank account.
(c) The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) or normal bank account number of the Receiver's Account with the foreign bank.
(d) The national bank code (where available) of the bank branch at which the Receiver's Account is maintained. This is not required if an IBAN is provided.
Please ensure that the information provided is accurate and complete. Failure to provide the correct information may result in your International Payment being returned to your account for a lesser amount due to foreign bank fees and charges and/or exchange rate losses.
Detailed information on country specific formatting requirements.
IBAN is mandatory for all International euro payments to SEPA zone countries. For incoming and outgoing non SEPA International Payments, AIB recommends using the IBAN and BIC where they are available.
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When should I make a SEPA payment or an International Payment?
Any euro payment going to the SEPA Zone should go as a SEPA payment.
SEPA zone = EU Member states, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and United Kingdom. There are a number of additional SEPA zone territories, which tend to change periodically.
If you need your payment to get there the same day and it is before 14:00 make sure you select the ‘standard’ option on internet banking, or on our Paylink euro form.
If you need your payment to get there the same day and it is between 14:00 and 15:00 then we advise you to select the ‘urgent’ option.
If the bank you are trying to pay is not a member of the SEPA scheme you will need to make an international payment.
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What is an International Bank Account Number (IBAN)?
The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) is a standardised European bank account number. The IBAN is now the sole payment account identifier for electronic national, international and cross-border credit transfers and direct debits in Euro within the EU.
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