Frequently asked questions on Single European Payments Area (SEPA) in Sage Payroll.
To help you with any queries you may have about SEPA, we’ve put together a list of common questions.
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is an initiative of the European banking industry. The aim is to make all electronic payments across European countries easy. Electronic payments should be as easy as domestic payments are now. SEPA will standardise euro electronic payments across Europe.
SEPA came into full effect on 1 February 2014. It changed the way we process euro electronic payments across Europe. It means you can make and receive payments to any euro account within SEPA.
As part of the switch to SEPA, Bank identifier codes (BIC) replaced bank sort codes. International bank account numbers (IBAN) replaced Irish account numbers.
Sage worked closely with the relevant authorities. We made sure your payroll software is completely ready for SEPA banking.
You’ll find that the changes in Payroll are minimal. As long as the necessary BIC and IBAN codes are in place, you should find the transition to SEPA seamless. If SEPA bank details are missing or invalid, a warning prompt appears on the Summary window. It also shows in the relevant employee records.
For more information, read SEPA changes and new ISO 20022 standards.
The BIC identifies the relevant bank or financial institution.
The IBAN identifies the account throughout the EU and European Economic Area (EEA). New IBAN codes incorporate existing bank account numbers.
It's a legal requirement for EU and EEA banks to provide customers with an IBAN for each of their bank accounts.
1st February 2014.
All electronic financial transactions in euros within the SEPA region use BIC and IBAN codes.
Current bank statements include the BIC and IBAN codes. You can also request your BIC and IBAN codes directly from your bank.
A BIC has between 8 and 11 characters, containing:
- Institution code
A four letter code. It's unique to each financial institution - Country code
A two letter code. It identifies the country of the financial institution - Location code
A two character alphanumeric code. It identifies a locale within the relevant country. For example: city, province or time zone - Branch code
An optional three character alphanumeric code. It identifies the country and subdivision of the financial institution
An IBAN can contain up to 34 alphanumeric characters. A typical Irish IBAN contains between 22 and 27 characters.
The IBAN contains:
- Country code
A two letter code. It identifies the bank or branch country - Check digits
A two digit code. It helps confirm the integrity of the basic bank account number (BBAN) - Basic bank account number (BBAN)
An alphanumeric code of up to 30 characters. Each country has a BBAN format of a specific length. The BBAN incorporates a bank’s identification code
- Solution ID
- 222001000101586
- Last Modified Date
- Mon Nov 02 16:08:51 UTC 2026
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