What do I need for direct debit?

Payments by direct debit can only be made under strict conditions. These conditions have been changed since the introduction of the SEPA guidelines.

Direct debit contract

First and foremost, the community must have an agreement with the bank to be able to carry out direct debit. This is called a direct debit contract. From the bank you will need:

• Creditor ID – This is a unique code that belongs to the person carrying out the collection: the creditor.
• Access to software to carry out the collection order. Usually you can do this in the online banking environment of your bank.

Direct debit mandate

To carry out direct debit, you need an agreement not only with the bank, but with the member as well. The member must give permission before you can debit money from his/her account. This direct debit agreement between the community and the member is called a mandate.

Which information do you need from members?

• The IBAN account number.
• The BIC code that belongs to the account number.
• Mandate date – The date of signing the authorisation. This is the date on which the relatino (the member) gave permission for direct debit. Sometimes, this date may be unknown because permission was given a long time ago. In that case, you should use the following date: 1-11-2009.
• Mandate number – The mandate number is an automatically generated unique number that belongs to the member. This number identifies the direct debit mandate between the community and the member. For new members and new mandates, the system automatically generates a number. Each authorization has a unique number with a maximum of 35 characters.

The information above must be entered in the debtor profiles of members.