SEPA Direct Debit Core rulebook and implementation guidelines

The SDD Core rulebook currently in effect up to and including 16 March 2024 is the 2021 SDD Core rulebook version 1.3. Version 1.3 has no specific impact on the business and operational rules compared to versions 1.1 and 1.2 of the 2021 SDD Core rulebook.

Read more about the 2021 SDD Core rulebook version 1.3

The Implementation Guidelines the of 2021 SDD Core rulebook are based on the relevant ISO 20022 XML message standards.

Read more about the 2021 SDD Core scheme Customer-to-PSP IGs version 1.0

Read more about the 2021 SDD Core scheme Inter-PSP IGs version 1.0

Read more about the 2021 SDD Core scheme e-Mandate service IGs version 1.0 

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• To formally enable the SDD Core scheme to cater for both retail and Financial Institution-to-Financial Institution payment use cases, the term ‘Customer’ is replaced by the term ‘Payment Service User’ (PSU) including an appropriate definition for this new term. The definitions of the terms ‘Creditor’ and ’Debtor’ are amended whereby also payment service providers (PSPs) can take up these roles. Related to this, the definition of the term ‘Payment Account’ is changed indicating that such account can be held by a PSP as well. Also, some obligations of the Creditor PSP and of the Debtor PSP in the rulebook sections 5.7 and 5.8 are amended.
   
• Provision of the structured address of the payment service user:
  
  As of 17 March 2024, payment service users are allowed to send a structured address of the Creditor and/or the Debtor in electronic Customer-to-PSP files based on at least the EPC SDD Core Customer-to-PSP Implementation Guidelines (IGs). From that same date, also SDD Core scheme participants are allowed to provide structured addresses in their Inter-PSP SDD Core collection messages and r-transactions.
  
  In view of the above, all SDD Core scheme participants must be able to support the delivery of structured addresses when payment service users and SDD Core scheme participants want a structured address in their outgoing and incoming SDD Core collections. SDD Core scheme participants cannot reject SDD Core collections only due to the inclusion of a structured address.
  
  The use of an unstructured address will still be possible and supported by the SDD Core scheme up to and including 22 November 2025.
  
  As of 23 November 2025, the use of the structured address will become mandatory for Inter-PSP SDD Core collection messages where applicable, and for payment service users when they send electronic Customer-to-PSP files based on at least the EPC SDD Core Customer-to-PSP IGs. From that date, the use of an unstructured address will no longer be allowed and will hence lead to rejects.
   
• Extra clarifications about the charging principles.

Important reminder: back in 2020, the EPC already decided upon the following changes for the 2023 SDD Core rulebook: 

• Migrate all ISO 20022 standard-based XML payment messages used under the SDD Core scheme, to the 2019 version of the ISO 20022 standard. This migration now takes place on 17 March 2024 instead of 19 November 2023. More information about the change of this migration date can be found in the EPC news item published on 24 October 2023.
• Align the attribute numbering between the four SEPA payment scheme rulebooks as of the respective 2023 rulebooks.

Annex IV of the 2023 SDD Core rulebook version 1.1 lists all changes since the version 1.0 of the 2021 SDD Core rulebook.