SEPA direct debit batches for recurring payments: a complete guide for stores

SEPA direct debit lets you collect payments directly from the customer’s account with their authorisation. For subscriptions, fees and business customers it is cheap, it does not expire like a card and customers are familiar with it.

What you need

• A SEPA direct debit contract with your bank (in Spain sometimes called a «contrato de remesas» or «Norma 19»).
• Creditor identifier: your bank gives it to you.
• A mandate signed by each customer.

The creditor identifier and the suffix

In Spain it looks like this:

ES  76  000  B12345678
│   │   │    └─ creditor's NIF (tax ID)
│   │   └────── suffix (business code, usually 000)
│   └────────── check digits
└────────────── country

A frequent question is whether the suffix shown in online banking has to be added separately. No: it is already inside the identifier, in positions 5 to 7. The check digits are calculated only from the country and the NIF (Spanish tax ID), so if the bank assigns you a different suffix for another contract, those three digits change and the check digits stay the same.

The mandate

This is the customer’s authorisation. It must include the creditor’s name, their identifier, a unique mandate reference, the debtor’s details and IBAN, the payment type (recurring or one-off) and the legal text informing them of their right to a refund. In an online store, it can be signed at checkout itself by accepting the mandate text.

CORE and B2B

• CORE: for consumers and businesses. The debtor can request a refund of an authorised debit for 8 weeks, without giving a reason, and of an unauthorised one for up to 13 months.
• B2B: only between businesses, with no right to a refund of authorised debits, but the debtor has to register the mandate with their bank.

The batch file

Batches are sent to the bank in an XML file following the ISO 20022 standard (pain.008 message). Your payment module or your ERP generates it with all the charges for the period, and you upload it to online banking. Each debit carries the mandate reference and its signature date.

Pre-notification

The customer must be told the amount and date before each charge. The default notice period is 14 calendar days, but a shorter one can be agreed in the terms they accept when signing up.