EU payments guide
EU countries we support, plus introductions to IBANs and payment schemes.
Supported countries
Alongside the UK, we support Payments v3 in:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Ireland
- Italy
- Lithuania
- the Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Spain
Payouts are available in GBP and EUR. For more detailed information on product coverage, contact us.
If you have an account, go to Console to see more detailed information about providers by country.
Introduction to payments schemes
Payment schemes allow you to transfer money digitally from account to account.
When you make an account-to-account transfer within the UK via TrueLayer, the money moves over the Faster Payments scheme. These payments are free, and the money usually arrives in your beneficiary's account within a few seconds (though it can take up to 2 hours).
When you make a payment in Europe via TrueLayer, it uses one of two schemes:
Introduced in 2017, SEPA Instant enables faster and easier cross-border payments by giving users a way to transfer money in real time.
However, SEPA Instant is optional. This means EU banks don’t have to provide it, and little more than half currently do. However, this number is increasing gradually, because regulatory change requires all banks that offer regular credit transfers to offer instant transfers too.
Below is a table explaining the differences between payments rails.
| Payment scheme | Payment speed | Fees | Availability | Coverage | Recommended use case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faster Payments | A few minutes | None | 24/7, 365 days a year | UK providers | Payments in the UK |
| SEPA Instant | 15 seconds | Fees usually charged | 24/7, 365 days a year | Some European providers | High-value, time-critical payments where the recipient needs to receive the money as soon as possible. |
| SEPA Credit | 1–2 business days, sometimes up to 3 | Usually none, but sometimes fees are charged | Within business hours. Not available on weekends or public holidays, and impacted by remitter and beneficiary bank cut-off times | All European providers | Transactions where the recipient does not need to receive the funds immediately, such as business payments or salary disbursements. |
SEPA Instant availability
If you have an account on Console, see our providers table for details on which providers support SEPA Instant.
Both SEPA Instant and SEPA Credit use the ISO 20022 standard for messaging, and are regulated by the European Central Bank.
Be aware that many people in Europe are unfamiliar with the terms SEPA Credit and SEPA Instant. We recommend not using these terms when you design your checkout.
SEPA Instant fees
When there is a fee for SEPA Instant payments, it is normally the end user who pays them. So it's important to communicate potential fees clearly and transparently to your users.
Below is a guide to typical flat fee amounts by country. Be aware that fees will differ from bank to bank, and some banks charge a percentage-based fee which may be much higher.
| Country | Fee amount |
|---|---|
| Austria | €0.65 |
| Belgium | €0–€1.25 |
| Finland | €0 |
| France | €0–€1 |
| Germany | €0–€1.50 |
| Ireland | €0–€0.99 |
| Italy | €0.60–€5.90 |
| Lithuania | €0.41 |
| the Netherlands | €0.08 |
| Portugal | €1.35–€5.20 |
| Spain | €0.95–€12.00 |
Be aware of IBAN discrimination
Sometimes, fees can change depending on which IBAN you receive payments with. Bypass this by using a TrueLayer merchant account.
Choosing a payments rail
If you want to use a specific rail for a payment:
- set
provider_selectiontouser_selectedand use filters in thescheme_selectionfield - set
provider_selectiontopreselectedand set thescheme.idto:
scheme.id | Payments rail |
|---|---|
faster_payments_service | Faster Payments |
sepa_credit_transfer | SEPA Credit |
Payments over €100,000 cannot be made through SEPA Instant. They are automatically routed through SEPA Credit.
Use the payment_creditable webhook
payment_creditable webhookIf you accept payments with SEPA Credit, we recommend that you enable the creditable_at webhook. This webhook informs you when you can consider a payment complete, and provide services, before the payment actually settles.
The payment_creditable webhook supports variety of behaviours, including time-bound and risk-assessed behaviours.
Introduction to IBANs
An IBAN, or International Bank Account Number, is required by some banks in the EU to create a payment. You can usually find your IBAN on your bank statement or by logging into your bank's online banking/app.
An IBAN consists of three parts:
- a country code (eg FR, DE)
- a control key
- a BBAN
IBANs in EU payment requests
During provider selection, a user who makes a payment in Europe will often be asked to submit their IBAN alongside the provider they want to pay with.
These are the countries enabled by TrueLayer that require the person making the payment to submit their IBAN:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Germany
- Italy
- Lithuania
- Norway
- Poland
If you don't know your user's IBAN, they will be asked to add it manually during checkout so that they can safely connect their bank and proceed with the payment.
We recommend that you store your user's IBAN, and supply it for them within the
provider_selection.remitterparameter if they pay again. This significantly improves the user experience.TrueLayer's user interfaces for web and mobile apps automatically handle additional requirements like this for banks and countries across Europe.
Updated 7 months ago