If your following through the various SEPA Direct Debit related posts, i’d suggest the following order:
I’m guessing you will have done some of your own reading too, and you’ll be thinking about implementing the SEPA Direct Debit process within your organisation. That leads us nicely into the SEPA Direct Debit technical considerations. This post will NOT cover:
- Mandate management
- Mandate management software does alot of great and wonderful things
- But if you have a handful of customers that you are direct debiting, there is nothing to stop you from storing your Mandates in a secure cupboard in your office(!!), or scan and store the Mandates in a secure location within your office server storage space
- That said, Manndate Management software does offer corporates with many mandates the opportunity to centrally manage their mandates, and a load of other bolts on that may help you with your SEPA project — more on this soon….!
- The creation of the SEPA Direct Debit XML (PAIN.008) message
But i will highlight below the key additional fields or tags (XML speak!) that you need to be aware of as you plan your SEPA Direct Debit implementation. I’ve not seen anything like this anywhere else! If you understand the below you are 99% of the way to implementing SEPA direct debits. Most of the below elements will also be found on the Mandate form, you need to ensure they are captured and stored into your ERP system. Understanding and capturing the below information will drive your SEPA direct debit implementation.
| Field | Description |
| BIC / IBAN | Customer Bank Information. If you dont have the BIC / IBAN information already, you need to consider how you will collect this – More on this soon…! |
| SDD Scheme | Core or Business to Business (B2B). Understand your existing direct debit process, and from this determine which SEPA direct debit scheme your customers should migrate to: Core OR B2B |
| Mandate Id | Assigned by the you (the creditor). Maximum 35 chars – existing customer number is usually a good start point Note: Legacy Mandate Id needs to be communicated upfront to the debtor prior to the first collection (under the Core scheme) |
| Mandate Signature Date | Date Mandate is signed For legacy mandates, it would be the date you switch to the new scheme |
| Creditor Identifier / Creditor Number | Centrally assigned by either the in-country central bank, or the creditors bank |
| Direct Debit Sequence | One off, First, Recurring, Last. Identified at the time of the Direct Debit entry into banking software/ PAIN.008 file creation |
| End to End Reference | To be used for reconciliation Again, look to use a unique reference – e.g. customer Id + date |
Let me know if you think other fields are missing from this list, or if you have had any particular questions / issues with one of the above mentioned fields.