Ukrainian citizens and businesses could save between €70 million and €100 million per year (!) once Ukrainian banks join the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).

These findings come from a study by Vitalii Kravchuk, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting. In his analytical brief, he provided a detailed explanation of SEPA and why joining it would benefit Ukraine.

SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is a European Union initiative to create a unified market for euro payments. It allows cashless euro transactions between EU member states as easily and securely as domestic payments. SEPA reduces transaction costs, speeds up processing, and increases payment transparency.

SEPA is not a payment system but a harmonized set of rules and standards to make euro payments as simple and cost-effective as domestic transfers for Ukrainians. It eliminates the additional fees currently applied to payments outside SEPA.

How can a country join SEPA?

In 2020, the European Payments Council, in cooperation with regulators, established criteria for non-EU countries to join SEPA, including:

• Strong political and economic ties with the EU (e.g., an Association Agreement or candidate status)
• Sufficient volume of euro-denominated transactions
• A level playing field with EU market participants — i.e., competitive rules aligned or harmonized with EU law and absence of unfair competitive advantages
• No technical or regulatory barriers — harmonized EU-compliant rules for payment services and no other obstacles to cross-border transfers
• Compliance with anti-money laundering standards, including relevant EU directives and FATF requirements

Under the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement and the path toward future EU membership, Ukraine is already working toward joining SEPA. In October 2022, Ukraine and the EU included SEPA accession on the list of joint priorities.

On April 30, the Ukrainian government submitted draft law No. 13233 to the Verkhovna Rada to align national legislation with SEPA standards. The bill proposes addressing the European Commission’s recommendations regarding creating registries to simplify the identification of payment beneficiaries within the country.

Vitalii Kravchuk notes: “There is reason to believe that after the adoption of the draft law, Ukraine will be able to join SEPA — just as our neighbor Moldova has already done.”

The prospect of Ukraine joining the EU’s unified payments system SEPA has already brought the country closer to EU standards for payment services and anti-money laundering. Successful accession would grant access to faster and cheaper financial transactions between Ukraine and the EU.

Assuming current payment volumes remain stable, the potential savings for individuals and businesses from switching to SEPA could amount to €70–100 million annually.

“SEPA could accelerate the circulation of funds between Ukraine and EU countries. This would improve financial liquidity and boost business efficiency — especially for companies actively cooperating with European partners,” the expert from the Institute affirms.