SEPA Direct Debit
SEPA Credit Transfer (SDD) is a Euro-denominated direct debit of any value that operates according to the SDD Core or SDD B2B schemes. Since February 2014, all domestic direct debit schemes in the 32 countries that comprise the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) need to take the form of SDD. All direct debits under either the SDD Core or B2B schemes have the same conditions whether they are paid to a counterparty within the same SEPA member country or another member country.
SDD instructions need to be exchanged using ISO 20022 XML formats (from 2016 for non-Eurozone countries) and remittance data must include an IBAN and currently a BIC, but this requirement may change in the future.
SDDs enable both single (one-off) or recurring direct debit collections with no limit on the amount. Payers have an 8 week right to refund for authorised direct debit collections and 13 months for unauthorised direct debit collections.
SEPA mandates are standardised documents for authorising direct debits, and are maintained by the creditor (as opposed to by the debtor''s bank as is typically the case for domestic direct debit schemes). Valid direct debit mandates obtained by the creditor before migration to the SDD core scheme will remain in force for SDD Core collections (the SDD B2B scheme does not replace existing direct debit schemes and therefore requires new mandates).