Canonical: https://unicorncurrencies.com/receive-money-from/european-union/

# Intelligence: Receiving Money from European Union

## Collection Methods

- **SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area):** European instant/standard payments. Covers 36 countries. Timing depends on route, funding, review, and receiving-bank handling.

- **SEPA Instant:** 24/7 real-time EUR payments. Available in most EU banks. Timing depends on route, funding, review, and receiving-bank handling.

- **TARGET2:** ECB real-time gross settlement. High-value transactions. Timing depends on route, funding, review, and receiving-bank handling.

## Benefits

- Local EUR IBAN

- SEPA Instant: 10-second settlement

- Same cost for all 36 SEPA countries

- No FX fees for EUR → EUR

- Lower fees than SWIFT

## Settlement & Use

- **Settlement time:** 10 seconds (SEPA Instant) or T+1 (standard SEPA)

- **Use case:** Collect EUR from customers across Europe using local SEPA rails. Instant settlement, no cross-border fees.