SEPA Credit Transfer
aka SCT, SEPA bank transfer
Standard EUR-denominated bulk payment scheme used to pay suppliers, salaries and Revenue liabilities from Irish business bank accounts. Settlement within one business day across SEPA.
Last reviewed April 2026
Definition
The SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) scheme is the harmonised EUR-denominated payment rail used across the 36 SEPA countries. Initiation files use the ISO 20022 pain.001 XML format and are uploaded to the bank's online portal or sent by API. A standard SCT settles within one business day and can include up to 140 characters of remittance data per payment, which is what allows accounting software to push a single bulk file containing supplier invoices, payroll, and Revenue tax liabilities together. SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) is a separate optional scheme that settles in under 10 seconds, 24/7, capped at EUR 100,000 per payment; from 9 January 2025 all SEPA-area banks must support receiving SCT Inst, and from 9 October 2025 they must also be able to send. SCT files are not the same as SEPA Direct Debit XML files (pain.008), and bank validation of pain.001 files is strict on header values, BIC/IBAN consistency, and remittance information length.
Why it matters for software choice
Most Irish accounting and payroll software exports SCT files in the bank's required pain.001 dialect. Mismatches between the file the software produces and the format your bank accepts (AIB, BOI, Revolut, Wise) are the single biggest reason batch payments fail to upload.
Authority sources
- European Payments Council: SEPA Credit Transfer (www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu)
- Central Bank of Ireland: SEPA (www.centralbank.ie)
Software categories this affects
Vendors covered by this term
AIB Business
Ireland's largest business bank with branch network, lending, and merchant services
Bank of Ireland Business
Full-service Irish business banking with lending, merchant services, and SEPA bulk payments
Revolut Business
EU-licensed business banking with Irish IBANs, SEPA Instant, and multi-currency accounts
Wise Business
Multi-currency business account with mid-market FX rates and EU IBAN for Irish SMEs
N26 Business
German-licensed business account for Irish freelancers and sole traders with EU IBAN
Related terms
SEPA Direct Debit
The standardised Euro pull-payment scheme covering all SEPA countries. A creditor with a Creditor Identifier and a signed mandate can debit the debtor's account in any participating bank using a pain.008 XML file.
Irish bank feeds
An automated daily connection between an Irish business bank account and accounting software, removing CSV uploads. Modern feeds run over PSD2 Open Banking APIs; older feeds use Yodlee or Plaid screen-scraping.
Irish IBAN
International Bank Account Number issued by Irish-based banks. 22 characters starting with IE, includes a 6-digit sort code and 8-digit account number. Required for SEPA payments.
Open Banking (PSD2)
EU regulatory framework that lets authorised third parties access bank account data (AIS) and initiate payments (PIS) on the customer's behalf. The basis for live bank feeds and payment-initiation tools.