The European Payments Council (EPC) makes available the publication 'Shortcut to SEPA Direct Debit (SDD)' (four-page flyer) which summarises the main features of the SDD Schemes (SDD Core and SDD Business to Business) including their key benefits. The publications released in the EPC 'Shortcut Series' highlight key Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) concepts and EPC deliverables in non-technical terms. To view the entire series and more information supporting bank customers transitioning to SEPA, refer to this page on the EPC Website: SEPA Customers.

For detailed information on the SDD Schemes, refer to this page on the EPC Website: SEPA Direct Debit.

The EPC invites readers to be mindful of the 'Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 establishing technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro and amending Regulation (EC) No 924/2009' (the SEPA Regulation) adopted by the European Union legislator in February 2012. The SEPA Regulation defines 1 February 2014 as the deadline in the euro area for compliance with the core provisions of this Regulation. In non euro countries, the deadline will be 31 October 2016. Effectively, this means that as of these dates, existing national euro credit transfer and direct debit schemes will be replaced by SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) and SEPA Direct Debit (SDD). For more information on the SEPA Regulation, refer to this page on the EPC Website: SEPA Legal and Regulatory Framework.