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SEPA Direct Debit

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The standard method for collecting Euro-denominated recurring payments, from regular subscription payments and monthly donations, to one-click payments or paying in instalments.

Currently, 36 countries use the SEPA Direct Debit system which makes SEPA Direct Debit incredibly powerful for Europe-wide expansion of subscription services.

How it works

Key information

Available country codesEU countries: AT, BE, BG, HR, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IE, IT, LV, LT, LU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SI, ES, SE
EEA Countries: IS, LI, NO
Countries that have bilateral agreements with EU: AD, SM, MC, VA
Supported merchant locationsEuropean Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, Switzerland
Supported currenciesEUR
API method namedirectdebit
Supported APIPayments API , Orders API
Minimum transaction amount0.01 EUR
Maximum transaction amount1,000.00 EUR (Default Limit)
Session timeout60 minutes / 15 minutes
Supported operationsAuto-Capture
Full refund
Partial refunds
Refund validity365 days
RecurringYes
Settlement delay9 business days
Chargeback riskYes
Chargeback periodWithin 8 weeks.
If this period is over, the customer can choose to do an unauthorized Direct debit report with the bank within 13 months of payment.
Resource packAvailable here

First Payment Authorisation

In order to get started with recurring payments you require the customer’s consent. This can be done via a first payment. It’s similar to a regular payment, but the customer is shown information about your organization, and the customer needs to complete the payment with the account that will be used for recurring charges in the future. After the first payment is completed successfully, the customer’s account will immediately be chargeable on-demand, or periodically through subscriptions.

The following methods support first payments for SEPA Direct Debit

  • Bancontact
  • Belfius
  • EPS
  • iDEAL
  • KBC Payment Button
  • MyBank
  • Trustly
  • Pay by Bank

Updated 29 days ago