SEPA payments for your Greece holiday: what changes for Serbian tourists in 2026

Serbia officially joined the SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) on May 5, 2026 - becoming the 41st member of the European payments zone. If you're booking private accommodation in Greece this summer, this is excellent news for your wallet.

What SEPA means for your Greek holiday booking

Greece is a long-standing EU and SEPA member. Until now, sending euros from a Serbian bank to a Greek IBAN required a SWIFT transfer - costing 15–40 EUR in fees and taking 3–5 business days. With SEPA Credit Transfer, the same payment now costs 1–5 EUR and arrives by the next business day.

Real savings: advance, deposit, final balance

A typical booking in Halkidiki, Corfu or Rhodes involves three bank transfers: advance deposit, security deposit, and final balance. Previously that cost 50–70 EUR in bank fees alone. With SEPA, the same three transfers cost under 15 EUR - saving you enough for a seaside dinner for two.

Things to keep in mind

• Verify your Serbian bank is in the SEPA system - 18 banks joined from day one (OTP, Raiffeisen, Banca Intesa, Erste, UniCredit, ProCredit and others)
• Ask the property owner for their IBAN (starts with GR, 27 characters) and their bank BIC code before sending any payment
• Minimum fees apply to small amounts - for transfers under 200 EUR, Wise or Revolut may still offer a lower total cost

For a detailed comparison of SEPA fees across Serbian banks, see Kreditmetar.rs - complete SEPA guide for Serbia 2026 (in Serbian).