1. Banks are also allowed to charge fees for SEPA transfers, with some limitations.
2. It does care about currencies, in that it only supports one: the E stands for Euro, and all SEPA transfers, in the four rails it provides, are in Euros, including transfers from and to countries that are not in the euro zone.
3. And SEPA isn't limited to the European Union, as it has 36 states participating in the scheme, more than the EU's 27.
- Keep the money in the bank (and earn interest on it) for another month or so
- Contest fraudulent charges or payments for goods or services that are never delivered
- Earn travel rewards (I know, those have systemic downsides)
- Pay any business in essentially any country in any currency with no fee for you and a low fee for the business