SEPA Rulebooks 2015 – 5 Things You Need to Know 4

Alright, first things first – I realise I have not been posting much recently… I will redress the balance and share some hopefully (!!) useful posts between now and Christmas. Please look out for those…. That said, there has not been much SEPA related news since my last post, SEPA is Here..! Most people are now SEPA compliant and getting to grips with SEPA as a Business As Usual (BAU) process. Last week on 25th November ,2014 the EPC released updated SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) and SEPA Direct Debit Rulebooks – it is the intention of this post to share with you the key information and new requirements contained within the SEPA Rulebooks and what you need to do next

1. What are the SEPA Rulebooks…?

The SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) and SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) schemes rules, standards and guidelines are defined by the EPC in the SEPA Credit Transfer Rulebook and SEPA Direct Debit Rulebook(s). The EPC describes the SEPA Rulebooks as “instruction manuals which provide a common understanding on how to move funds between payment accounts within SEPA”.

The SCT scheme was launched in 2008, and the SDD scheme in 2009. To help promote a common understanding of the various rules the EPC, since the launch of the SEPA scheme, has annually released updated Rulebooks in November which take effect in November of the following year.

The updated SEPA Rulebooks, released in November 2014  and effective in November 2015, are indicated below. Click the link to view the specific EPC Rulebook details:

• SEPA Credit Transfer Rulebook Version 8.0
• SEPA Direct Debit Core Rulebook Version 8.0
• SEPA Direct Debit Business to Business Rulebook Version 6.0

2. I have just gone live with SEPA, why are the SEPA Rules changing…?

 As mentioned above to ensure that the SEPA payment schemes continue to stay abreast of global technical standards, best practice and ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) standards the EPC release updated rulebooks each year. In addition to this the EPC invites key stakeholders to share any suggestions. This year the deadline for this feedback was 28th February, 2014. The responses were next compiled into a Change Request document summarising all of the suggestions. These proposed changes were subsequently released for a three month public consultation (May-August 2014).

3. Ok, what are the main SEPA Rulebook changes I need to be aware of…?

Actually, I don’t think the updates that will become effective in November 2015 are that significant. Most of the updates impact SEPA Direct Debit  collections, specifically wording changes to the mandate. There are some other changes of course, but nothing major – Please let me know, in the comments below, if you disagree with this statement….

I would recommend reading the EPC Newsletter Issue 24 – October 2014 which summarises the changes going live in November 2015 to see if there are any updates that impact you.

The article also shares details about the following updates to go live in November 2016 that are worth noting:

• SEPA Core direct debit collections can be made on a D-1 (due date minus 1) basis – This will be applicable for first (FRST), Recurrent (RCUR) and One Off (OOFF) collections – as I’m sure you know, the rules right now are complex and confusing – Please note this is scheduled for November 2016 as part of SDD Core Rulebook version 9.0
• SEPA CORE and B2B direct debit collections will no longer require the sequence type first (FRST) to be indicated. If you want to continue to use FRST you can, but it will no longer be mandatory! – Please note this is scheduled for November 2016 as part of SDD Core Rulebook version 9.0 and the SDD B2B Rulebook version 7.0

4. When are the new SEPA Rulebooks effective…?

The updates and guidelines indicated in the SEPA Rulebooks released on 25th November, 2014 will become effective next year on 22nd November, 2015. Just to be clear the updated SEPA Rulebooks are:

• SEPA Credit Transfer Rulebook Version 8.0
• SEPA Direct Debit Core Rulebook Version 8.0
• SEPA Direct Debit Business to Business Rulebook Version 6.0

5. What should I do next…?

• Share this post with your friends and colleagues to help spread awareness that some of the SEPA Rules are changing
• Raise the fact that the SEPA Rulebooks have been updated and will take effect November 2015 at the you next team meeting so that your teams have SEPA and potential changes on their radar NOW
• Have a great Christmas!!!
• When you return from your well deserved (!!) Christmas break, read up on any specific areas of interest and arrange a call with your bank to clarify exactly what the changes mean for you and your company
• If you’re using a Payment Service Provider (PSP) or other intermediary give them a call and confirm if you need to make any changes to your current set up due to the November 2015 SEPA Rulebooks

I’d be really interested to know if you’re impacted by the updated SEPA Rulebooks, if you are please share the details below…..