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• The SEPA Direct Debit Mandate
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SEPA Direct Debit (SDD)

The SEPA Direct Debit Mandate

Streamlining the SEPA Mandate

The SEPA Core Direct Debit (SDD) Scheme Rulebook defines the rules for the content of SEPA mandates (section 4.7.2 - The Mandate). The illustration of the mandate as it appears in the Rulebook features the most comprehensive layout possible. In actual usage, however, the SEPA mandate form may be streamlined in a number of ways without losing any essential content whilst still remaining compliant with the Rulebook. In many cases, the mandate form itself does not have to include all the information required for the authorisation of a SEPA Direct Debit provided that this information can be obtained from other sources. It also needs to be kept in mind that most of the information included in a SEPA mandate can actually be supplemented by the creditor himself and may as such already be part of the mandate form he creates. Customers who complete and sign such forms will eventually provide virtually the same information on a SEPA mandate as in any mandate issued under most legacy direct debit schemes today. The SEPA mandate is in fact an easy-to-use tool for debtors and creditors alike.

To bring greater clarity on this point and to illustrate how a SEPA mandate form provided by creditors to their customers might actually look like, the EPC has issued a guidance document containing practical information on how selected mandate information may be used in various situations (see the document "Guidelines for the Appearance of Mandates"). Under "Related Files" below,  you can actually visualise a user-friendly SEPA mandate form.

Translating the SEPA Mandate

Translations of the SEPA mandate texts (see links below) as specified in the SEPA Direct Debit Scheme Rulebooks into the SEPA languages are available.

Using existing Mandates under the SDD Schemes

To facilitate migration of customers to the SEPA Direct Debit Scheme, it is imperative that mandates existing today can be used under the SEPA Scheme, even if these do not incidentally meet all the requirements of the SEPA mandate. Where necessary, EU Member States must devise legislative solutions to ensure the continued legal validity of existing mandates under the SEPA Direct Debit Scheme.

According to the Second Annual Progress Report on the state of SEPA migration in 2009 prepared by the Commission services this issue has been addressed in all Member States "with the important exception of Germany".

Secure and convenient - the e-Mandate Option

Following the inclusion of the e-mandate option in the SEPA Core Direct Debit Scheme Rulebook in December 2008, this feature was also integrated into the SEPA Business to Business Direct Debit Scheme Rulebook in June 2009. The SDD Rulebooks now provide the possibility to issue mandates created through the use of electronic channels - called e-mandates. The e-mandate solution is based on secure, widely used online banking services offered by debtor banks today. The debtor can re-use his online banking credentials. No additional means of identification are necessary. The e-mandate solution is an optional service offered by banks to their customers.

The inclusion of the e-mandate feature in the SEPA Direct Debit Schemes offers a variety of benefits for creditors as well as debtors.

Advantages for creditors include:

• The solution allows fully automated end-to-end processing of e-mandates including issuing, amendment and cancellation of such mandates while eliminating the need to deal with a multitude of local, technical or organisational barriers
• The e-mandate is agreed on in a secure way
• The confirmation of the debtor's right to access the account is specified by the debtor bank
• The e-mandate process allows automatic storage and retrieval of e-mandate data

Advantages for debtors include:

• The debtor avoids the inconvenience of printing, signing and mailing a paper form to the creditor by using a fully electronic process instead
• The e-mandate facility is based on secure, widely used online banking services of the debtor bank; the debtor, therefore, can simply rely on the online banking procedures he is already familiar with