Turkey submitted a formal letter of intent to the European Payments Council to join the Single Euro Payments Area on July 2. Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek announced the step following the first Turkey-EU High-Level Economic Dialogue in Istanbul with EU Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis.
SEPA currently covers 41 countries under harmonized rules for euro credit transfers and direct debits. Cross-border euro transfers between Turkey and Europe can cost up to EUR 40 for amounts between EUR 1,000 and EUR 5,000. Under SEPA scheme rules, such transfers would be priced identically to equivalent domestic euro payments.
Turkey's bilateral trade with the EU totals USD 233 billion annually. Full SEPA accession would require compliance with EU payment services regulation including anti-money laundering and data protection frameworks.