S

Sepa

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is the payment-integration initiative of the European Union for the simplification of bank transfers in the euro (€) currency within and between the following European States:

The 28 countries of the European Community (plus associated territories)
The 3 European Economic Area (EEA) Member States (Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein)
Monaco
Switzerland
San Marino

SEPA’s aim is to replace different local payments scheme’s in euro with a standardised set of products and payment guidelines. Once live, SEPA will enable individuals and businesses to move euro as easily, quickly, securely and efficiently within and across borders under the same basic conditions, rights and obligations as they can within their own countries.

Smartcard / smartcard reader

Smartcards and smartcard readers are used to confirm the identity of users. Some actions cannot be completed without smartcard authorisation. For example, logging in to the service and making payments to new beneficiaries.

A smartcard looks like a credit card, and the reader is similar to a small calculator.

Sort code

The UK's national clearing code - used to identify a specific bank, branch or financial institution. Sort codes have six digits in the format 12-34-56. The sort codes for accounts held at Coutts & Co are:-

Sterling accounts 18-00-02

Currency accounts 18-00-91

Status

The current payment status, with the date and time when the payment achieved this status.