In one line
Paying in euros from a bank in the EU or EEA to an account in another SEPA country? Your bank may not require you to give the BIC. The IBAN is enough. In any other case (another currency, or a country outside SEPA) have the BIC ready. The tool above walks through the three questions.
Where the rule comes from
The EU's SEPA Regulation, Regulation (EU) No 260/2012, says payment service providers may not require their customers to supply the BIC. The EPC's page on IBAN and BIC sets out the dates: from February 1, 2014 for national payments and from February 1, 2016 for cross-border payments, and Member States could defer the national date to February 1, 2016 (EPC).
Two points people miss:
- Banks still use the BIC between themselves. The rule only stops your bank from asking you for it. The same EPC page says that payers and payees give their bank's BIC "only where necessary", and that an EPC workshop found no mature way to derive a BIC from any IBAN for cross-border SEPA payments (EPC).
- It is an EU rule. SEPA reaches beyond the EU. A bank in the UK, Switzerland or another non-EU SEPA country is not bound by the EU regulation, and its form may still ask for the BIC and the payee's address. Have them ready.
The 41 SEPA countries (EPC list v8.0)
The EPC's list of SEPA scheme countries, version 8.0 of December 24, 2025, covers the 30 EU/EEA countries and 11 more.
| Group | Countries |
|---|---|
| EU (27) | Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden |
| Rest of the EEA (3) | Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway |
| Outside the EEA (6) | Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City State |
| Admitted 2024–2025 (5) | Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova (earliest start October 5, 2025); Serbia (earliest start May 2026) |
The list also names territories: the Åland Islands, the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. Ceuta and Melilla are not on it.
The EPC's "About SEPA" page still speaks of 36 countries and territories, which is the count before the five newest members. The v8.0 list is the newer document. For the five new members, the dates are the earliest a bank could start; banks join the schemes one by one. Ask whether the payee's bank already takes SEPA transfers.
Two identifiers, two jobs
| Identifier | Standard | What it identifies |
|---|---|---|
| IBAN | ISO 13616 | An account: country code, check digits and the national account number |
| BIC | ISO 9362 | A bank or other institution, with its country and possibly a branch |
The IBAN formats are registered with Swift as the ISO registration authority (Swift). Check an IBAN's length and check digits with the IBAN checker, and a BIC with the BIC checker.
Codes we ran through it
| Payment | Answer from the tool |
|---|---|
| Germany to France, in euros | IBAN only. Both banks are in the EU |
| Germany to the UK, in euros | SEPA works, but the UK bank side is outside the EU: the BIC and address may be asked for |
| Germany to France, in US dollars | Not SEPA. Give the IBAN and the BIC; banks in between may take a fee |
| Netherlands to Serbia, in euros | Serbia joined recently. Ask whether that bank already does SEPA transfers |
| Spain to the United States | Not SEPA, and the US has no IBANs: account number plus SWIFT/BIC |
Why the BIC still appears on invoices
Banks print BICs on statements and websites, and invoices from many countries include them. A BIC on an invoice helps find the bank. It does not prove the account is right. Compare the IBAN with the payee through a channel you trust; see before you send money. Inside the euro area, your bank's payee name check also helps.