{"id":3027,"date":"2025-10-14T13:41:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T11:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/?post_type=btv_wiki&#038;p=3027"},"modified":"2026-02-26T11:59:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T10:59:31","slug":"sepa-network","status":"publish","type":"btv_wiki","link":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/sepa-network\/","title":{"rendered":"SEPA network"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-csms\">What are CSMs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CSMs<\/strong> play a crucial role in SEPA payments. They collect, validate, and process payment orders between European banks. They also ensure the correct mutual settlement between those banks via the central <strong>T2 system<\/strong> of the Eurosystem of national central banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Netherlands, <a href=\"https:\/\/worldline.com\/nl-nl\/home\/main-navigation\/who-we-serve\/financial-institutions\/equensworldline-nv\"><strong><u>Worldline<\/u><\/strong> <span class=\"icon inline-block ml-1 w-[0.875em]\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" fill=\"#000000\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 256\"><path d=\"M228,104a12,12,0,0,1-24,0V69l-59.51,59.51a12,12,0,0,1-17-17L187,52H152a12,12,0,0,1,0-24h64a12,12,0,0,1,12,12Zm-44,24a12,12,0,0,0-12,12v64H52V84h64a12,12,0,0,0,0-24H48A20,20,0,0,0,28,80V208a20,20,0,0,0,20,20H176a20,20,0,0,0,20-20V140A12,12,0,0,0,184,128Z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebaclearing.eu\/\"><strong><u>EBA Clearing<\/u><\/strong> <span class=\"icon inline-block ml-1 w-[0.875em]\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" fill=\"#000000\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 256\"><path d=\"M228,104a12,12,0,0,1-24,0V69l-59.51,59.51a12,12,0,0,1-17-17L187,52H152a12,12,0,0,1,0-24h64a12,12,0,0,1,12,12Zm-44,24a12,12,0,0,0-12,12v64H52V84h64a12,12,0,0,0,0-24H48A20,20,0,0,0,28,80V208a20,20,0,0,0,20,20H176a20,20,0,0,0,20-20V140A12,12,0,0,0,184,128Z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a> are the most important CSMs. They process account-to-account payments such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><em>SEPA Credit Transfers<\/em> (SCT)<\/strong> \u2014 European bank transfers;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>SEPA Direct Debits<\/em> (SDD)<\/strong> \u2014 European direct debits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The process consists of three steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><em>Clearing<\/em><\/strong> \u2014 collecting, checking, and processing payment orders between banks and settling accounts between banks;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Settlement<\/em><\/strong> \u2014 mutual settlement between banks via T2, whereby banks pay each other via their accounts with the ECB and national central banks;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Feedback<\/strong> \u2014 passing on transaction data to banks so that they can correctly update their customers&#8217; payments accounts.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>CSMs operate within T2&#8217;s opening hours, <strong>from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on business days<\/strong>. Standard transfers are usually processed within a few hours. CSMs also conduct testing with affiliated banks and with each other when new <strong>SEPA Rulebooks<\/strong> are introduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because CSMs often operate on a eurozone basis, they exchange data with each other for cross-border transactions. Many European CSMs, including Worldline, collaborate for this purpose within <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eacha.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><u>EACHA<\/u><\/strong><span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new window)<\/span> <span class=\"icon inline-block ml-1 w-[0.875em]\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" fill=\"#000000\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 256\"><path d=\"M228,104a12,12,0,0,1-24,0V69l-59.51,59.51a12,12,0,0,1-17-17L187,52H152a12,12,0,0,1,0-24h64a12,12,0,0,1,12,12Zm-44,24a12,12,0,0,0-12,12v64H52V84h64a12,12,0,0,0,0-24H48A20,20,0,0,0,28,80V208a20,20,0,0,0,20,20H176a20,20,0,0,0,20-20V140A12,12,0,0,0,184,128Z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a> (<em>European Automated Clearing House Association<\/em>). <strong>EBA Clearing<\/strong> has a broader European reach, with member banks from multiple countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the Dutch Payments Association, for example in the <strong>account-to-account Working Group<\/strong>, we discuss technical topics with our members, such as incidents, capacity management, and compliance with European regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Instant Payments and CSMs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With <strong>instant payments<\/strong>, the processing of payments is fundamentally different. The entire process \u2014 from <em>clearing<\/em> to <em>settlement<\/em> \u2014 takes place in <strong>less than 10 seconds<\/strong>. This means that the recipient has immediate access to the amount paid, around the clock, every day of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In many countries, including the Netherlands, local CSMs handle the processing of instant payments. Banks maintain a <strong>liquidity credit <\/strong>with the CSM for this purpose, in accounts with the national central bank. Under the supervision of that central bank, instant payments are settled immediately between banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An important difference with standard account-to-account payments is that different CSMs cannot process instant payments between themselves. The mutual exchange of liquidity between different CSMs is not permitted. That is why settlement between banks at different CSMs takes place via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/market-infrastructure\/target2-tips\/\"><strong><u>TIPS (<\/u><em><u>TARGET Instant Payment Settlement<\/u><\/em><u>)<\/u><\/strong><\/a> of the Eurosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All SEPA instant payment payment service providers are required to be connected to TIPS. This means that every bank within SEPA is directly accessible for instant payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The SEPA network of banks, payment institutions, and CSMSs forms the backbone of European account-to-account payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>CSMs<\/strong> ensure the secure and efficient processing of payments between banks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Standard transfers<\/strong> are processed in batches several times a day via T2.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Instant Payments are processed immediately, around the clock, via TIPS.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This enables effective, efficient, and secure European payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The European SEPA network handles account-to-account transfers and direct debits in euros between European banks. These banks include so-called CSMs (Clearing and Settlement Mechanisms), processors that settle transactions between payment service providers via the central bank.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":704,"parent":15,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"editor_notices":[]},"btv_subject_tax":[13,29],"class_list":["post-3027","btv_wiki","type-btv_wiki","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","btv_subject_tax-european-legislation","btv_subject_tax-market-infrastructure"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin  - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SEPA network - Dutch Payments Association<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SEPA network: how CSMs clear, settle and connect European transfers and instant payments via T2 and TIPS infrastructure.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SEPA network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SEPA network: how CSMs clear, settle and connect European transfers and instant payments via T2 and TIPS infrastructure.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/sepa-network\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dutch Payments Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T10:59:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/09\/europese_vlag-768x509-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"509\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NLbetalen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/sepa-network\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/sepa-network\/\",\"name\":\"SEPA network - 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