Payments to suppliers in the European Union: SEPA and SWIFT, the euro and national currencies, common EU rules and differing bank approaches, euro closing days.
Estimate the minimum fee
The final fee and rate are fixed in the payment order
Minimum amount: 10,000 USD or equivalent
This is a minimum, not an offer or a rate lock. The final figure depends on the country, amount and the banks involved and is fixed in the payment order.
Request a quoteFor a supplier, the European Union is a single market: goods travel from Italy to a warehouse in the Netherlands without customs, and the company’s account may be held in a third EU country. For a payment from Russia, the EU is not uniform. The restrictions on Russian companies are common to all EU countries, but banks in each country read them in their own way, and Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and several other states have added national measures. The same invoice may go through to Italy without questions and get stuck at a Baltic bank.
So we build the route not for “Europe” but for the beneficiary’s bank. The first two letters of the IBAN show the bank’s country: DE, IT, NL, CZ. For that country and that bank we select an agent from our pool whose route is open on the payment date.
SEPA is the single euro payments area, where a payment goes by IBAN alone, quickly and at domestic charges. It covers the EU countries and several neighbors, but not Russia. A SEPA transfer is possible only if the sender’s account is also in the area. So the agent’s account decides everything: if it is in the SEPA area, the euros can go under its rules; if not, the payment goes via SWIFT through correspondent banks. The supplier will not notice the difference: it receives euros under its invoice. For you, the fee and the route change, and both are visible in the payment order before payment.
Not all EU countries have adopted the euro. Czechia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Sweden and Denmark have their own currencies. Exporters in these countries usually invoice in euros anyway, but there are invoices in crowns, zloty and forint. Payment goes out in the invoice currency. If there is no route in the national currency, we will suggest that the supplier reissue the invoice in euros: for the supplier, this is a routine operation.
Every company in the EU has a VAT number with the country code in front. It is checked in the common European database, and then in the country’s commercial register. Exports outside the EU are exempt from VAT, so an invoice to a Russian buyer should not include the tax. If it does, ask the supplier before payment.
The euro settlement system is closed on New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May 1, and December 25 and 26. On these days euros are not credited in any country of the euro area, even if it is a working day there. Other holidays are national and affect only the beneficiary’s bank.
The specifics of individual countries are covered on their own pages: Germany, Poland, Czechia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia. The rule common to all: the exchange rate and the fee are fixed in the payment order before payment, escrow at a Russian bank is added on request for an additional fee, and VEDmost’s fee is paid by the executing agent.
Five steps, the same for every country. Country specifics are described above.
Beneficiary's country, amount, currency, the invoice and the contract or bill, your company's and the beneficiary's details. We review the request before any documents are signed.
We select a network company and a route and prepare the documents. You sign an agency agreement with that company, which sets the execution period, and a payment order: amount, exchange rate and fee. All of this before you transfer your roubles.
You transfer roubles to the network company from your account at a Russian bank. If you need a guarantee, they wait for execution in a special escrow account, for an additional fee.
The agent sends the currency to the beneficiary under this payment order. A sub-agent is engaged only with your consent. The route does not change without a payment order.
We send you the payment confirmation, and a SWIFT confirmation on request. Then the completion certificate, the agent's report and the currency control package. The deal is not closed until the currency has been sent to the beneficiary.
If you need a guarantee, the payment goes through a special escrow account at a Russian bank: the roubles wait there until the agent sends the currency to the beneficiary and are released only upon execution. This scheme carries an additional fee, shown in the quote before the agreement.
The agent executes the payment within 3 business days: the period is written into the agency agreement.
If the beneficiary's bank accepts payment only from a specific payer, the agent engages a sub-agent. Only with your consent. Your agency agreement does not change.
For large volumes, on request, we assign an agent backed by a large exporter's surety; some companies in our network have one. It can be combined with escrow.
Tell us the rate you pay now or send your current agent’s documents. We’ll calculate the all-in cost with the FX markup and charges and look for a lower rate in our network. If there isn’t one, we’ll say so. The comparison is free.
SEPA is the single area for euro transfers by IBAN. Russian accounts are not part of it. If the agent we select for your payment holds an account in the SEPA area, the euros can go under its rules; otherwise the transfer goes via SWIFT.
For the single market, yes. The first two letters of the IBAN show the bank's country. We select the route for that country, not for the supplier's address.
Yes. The payment goes out in crowns, zloty, forint or lei if agents in our pool have a route in that currency. If not, we will suggest that the supplier reissue the invoice in euros.
The euro settlement system is closed on New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May 1, and December 25 and 26. On these days euros are not credited in any country of the euro area.
By its VAT number in the common EU database and in the commercial register of its country. The VAT number starts with the country code.
Describe the payment. We'll reply with a proposed route and terms. We name the agent in advance, and the rate and fee go into the payment order before your roubles are debited.