European payments
Understand how payments work.
Start with how regular and instant payments differ from the CSM in the middle, then explore flows, ISO 20022 messages, schemes and rails.
How the system fits together
Regular, instant, and the CSM in between
A scheme says what must happen. A CSM is where banks clear and settle. Same pacs.008 shape — different clock, cut-off, and rail.
Scheme (business rules)
SCT, SCT Inst, SDD: who must be reachable, which ISO messages, which SLA. The rulebook — not the wire.
CSM (the rail)
Clearing and Settlement Mechanism: STEP2 for batch SEPA, TIPS or RT1 for instant. Banks exchange pacs here.
Regular vs instant
Regular SCT waits for the next batch / TARGET day. Instant (IPR default for euro CT) settles in ≤10 seconds, 24/7, with LclInstrm=INST.
Actors & money path
Switch the payment type — the CSM and who starts the instruction change.
Payer
Debtor
Originator
Debtor bank
DbtrAgt
CSM
STEP2 / batch
Next TARGET day
Creditor bank
CdtrAgt
Beneficiary
Creditor
Beneficiary
Vocabulary
Debtor / Creditor vs Orig / Bene
ISO 20022 labels the account sides (who is debited / credited). Operations often say originator / beneficiary for who starts or receives the instruction.
- Dbtr
Debtor
Account that loses the money (Dbtr / DbtrAcct). Always the payer side economically.
- Cdtr
Creditor
Account that gains the money (Cdtr / CdtrAcct). Always the payee side economically.
- Orig
Originator
Party that starts the instruction — payer on a credit transfer, creditor on a direct debit.
- Bene
Beneficiary
Party that receives the credit on a credit transfer (usually = Creditor).
Quick map
Same words, different payments
On SCT and SCT Inst, Originator ≈ Debtor and Beneficiary ≈ Creditor. On SDD, the Creditor is the Originator of the collection.
| Payment | Debited | Credited | Who starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular SCT | Payer = Debtor = Orig | Bene = Creditor | Payer / Debtor bank |
| Instant SCT Inst | Payer = Debtor = Orig | Bene = Creditor | Payer / Debtor bank |
| Direct debit | Payer = Debtor | Creditor = Orig | Creditor / Creditor bank |
In XML look for Dbtr / Cdtr, not “payer”. Agents are DbtrAgt / CdtrAgt. Clearing still sits in the CSM in the middle.
Explore a payment
Follow €100
How does €100 travel from France to Germany?
Follow €100
How does €100 travel from France to Germany on SCT?
SEPA Credit Transfer
A non-urgent euro credit transfer: the payer’s bank, STEP2 (or TARGET2 T2 RTGS), the beneficiary’s bank.
pain.001 → pacs.008 → pacs.002 → camt.054 → camt.056 → camt.029 → pacs.004
SEPA Instant
SCT Inst checkout: the rail itself (TIPS or RT1), no proxy/wallet overlay. A €100 instant euro transfer France → Germany: Verification of Payee, funds in ≤10 seconds.
pain.001 → acmt.023 → acmt.024 → pacs.008 → pacs.002 → pacs.028 → camt.054 → camt.056 → camt.029 → pacs.004
A2A Overlay
Retail A2A overlay: intent and proxy on the scheme, settlement on an instant rail. Samples: Wero (FR/DE), Bizum (ES), Payconiq (BE/LU), iDEAL (NL), BLIK (PL), Swish (SE), Vipps MobilePay (NO/DK/FI), TWINT (CH). Not Pix/UPI, not SCT Inst checkout, not PISP A2A, not PayPal/Alipay/Apple Pay.
pacs.008 → pacs.002
Instant A2A scheme
The instant scheme is the retail product (alias + 24/7), not an overlay on SCT Inst. Samples: Pix (BR), UPI (IN).
PISP A2A
TPP on XS2A (TrueLayer-style pay-by-bank): not a bank-consortium overlay. The PISP initiates; the ASPSP still settles SCT Inst (or SCT).
pain.001 → pacs.008 → pacs.002
Digital Wallet
A €100 third party digital wallet checkout (PayPal, Alipay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, WeChat Pay): the merchant sees a PSP or a card token — not an A2A overlay. Funding may hit a card scheme, bank account, or wallet balance; the merchant is paid later by transfer.
pacs.008
Card Overlay
A €100 third party card overlay (e.g. Curve, Privacy.com): the merchant sees a primary card PAN (e.g. Mastercard). The overlay provider then authorizes the payer’s real underlying card — two schemes, one checkout.
SEPA Direct Debit
A €100 euro direct debit: creditor mandate, pain.008 collection, STEP2, debit on the payer.
pain.008 → pacs.004
Card payment
A €100 card payment (e.g. Visa, Mastercard, Cartes Bancaires, American Express): authorization through the scheme, then clearing and settlement — not pacs rails.
SWIFT / CBPR+
A cross-border credit transfer on SWIFT ISO 20022 — watch the pacs.008 version (.10 / .13 vs SEPA .08).
pain.001 → pacs.008 → pacs.002 → pacs.009
Swiss Credit Transfer (SIC / SIC IP)
Domestic Swiss franc transfer on SIX Interbank Clearing: instant payment (<10s on SIC5 platform) or regular RTGS credit transfer under Swiss Payment Standards (SPS 2026).
pain.001 → pain.002 → pacs.008 → pacs.002 → pacs.028 → camt.054
Start with the story, then open the technical trace hop by hop.
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See also
- SEPA Credit Transfer
- SEPA Instant Credit Transfer
- A2A Overlay (Wero, Bizum, Payconiq, iDEAL, BLIK, Swish, Vipps MobilePay, TWINT)
- Instant A2A scheme (Pix, UPI)
- PISP A2A (TrueLayer)
- Digital Wallet (PayPal, Alipay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, WeChat Pay)
- Card Overlay (Curve, Privacy.com)
- SEPA Direct Debit
- Card payment
- CBPR+
- SIC Payment Scheme
- Glossary
- Interop map
- Live showcase
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