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SEPA Direct Debit
What is a SEPA Direct Debit?
The SEPA Direct Debit scheme works in a similar way to Direct Debits in the UK. With this scheme you can pay bills in Euros to accounts held in the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA includes all countries in the EU plus Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Monaco.
You can only use this scheme to pay a company or other organisation that uses SEPA Direct Debits. You can't use it to pay a person or to transfer money to another account.
Let’s look at the details
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Each day we set a standard exchange rate that we use for selling Euros. Each time a payment is made we'll use the rate for that particular day. So the payment amount could go up or down, depending on the exact rate. Your statement will show you the rate we use.
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The payee will tell you the payment amount and date. If the amount is fixed each time, then they may only tell you this once when you set up the Direct Debit. If the amount changes each time, then you'll be told the amount at least 14 days before the payment is collected. Unless you and the payee agree differently.
SEPA Direct Debit payments will be collected from your account during working hours. If you get text alerts from us, they won't consider these payments. So make sure you have enough in your account to cover your SEPA Direct Debits when the due date is coming up.
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To cancel a SEPA Direct Debit, just tell the payee that you want to cancel the payment. Once you've done this, the payee can't ask us for any more payments. You can also tell us to refuse any future payment requests which the payee has told you about.
If you want to change a SEPA Direct Debit, tell the payee what changes you'd like to make.
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To claim a refund for a SEPA Direct Debit payment, first you need to tell us if the payment was authorised or unauthorised. The refund process is different for each case.
Authorised payment refunds
If the payee still had your permission to collect payments, then these would be authorised payments. To claim a refund for an authorised payment you need to tell us right away, and no later than eight weeks after the payment date.
Unauthorised payment refunds
If the payee didn't have your permission to collect payments, then these would be unauthorised payments. To claim a refund for an unauthorised payment you should tell us as soon as you can, and no later than 13 months after the payment date.
If you ask for a refund, you'll still be responsible for any amounts you still owe the payee.
To claim a refund, give us a call.
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Authorised payment refunds
We'll pay refunds on the same day if the claim is made before 4pm. For claims made after 4pm, we'll pay the refund by 9.30am on the next day. Then we'll contact you to confirm that the refund has been paid.
Unauthorised payment refunds
Under the SEPA Direct Debit scheme rules we have up to 30 days to look into the case. We may need to contact the payee's bank as part of this. After this period, if we're able to pay the refund then we'll pay it on the same day that it gets processed. We'll contact you to confirm it has reached you.
We won’t be able to pay an unauthorised payment refund if the payee still has a Mandate Form signed by you which lets them collect payments from us. We’ll let you know if this is the case. To get a refund, you would need to take this up with the payee directly.
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You can't transfer SEPA Direct Debits between bank accounts. So if you close your account or open a new one, then you’ll need to set up your SEPA Direct Debits again.
First, check that your new bank offers this service. Then you’ll need to tell your payees. You'll need to fill in new Mandate Forms so that they can ask for payments from your new account.
Where can I find more information?Find out more about SEPA Direct Debits in the Personal Banking Terms and Conditions (PDF, 429kb).
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