How the Irish Banks such as BOI (Bank of Ireland), AIB, Ulster and Permanent TSB manage your SEPA Direct Debits

Irish Banks and SEPA Direct Debits – the misconception out there is that a consumer must sign a direct debit mandate form in order to give permission for a business to take a debit from someone’s bank account.  Not so!  No, all a business needs is a person’s BIC and IBAN number and you can start to take our funds from their accounts.

Not to Panic…SEPA has a number of checks

OK, calm down, if you are a consumer reading this…no need to panic! Don’t worry there are some checks in place.  All reputable businesses will insist that you complete a ‘Direct Debit’ mandate form.  But…

First of all, in order for say a local Gym to be able to take SEPA Direct Debits, they firstly have to apply to their bank to be able to take SEPA direct debits.  There is a fair bit of paper work involved, you will need to design a direct debit mandate form and apply.  The process can take a number of weeks and in essence it is a financial audit of your business.  It’s a bit like the business has to apply for a loan.  Your business will have to have a good credit rating, been in operation for some time, and be in good stead with your bank.  Be that AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB or Danske Bank…

As stated above, it’s a bit like getting a loan from your bank.  Which is the leverage against any potential fraudulent, bad or challenged debits by consumers.  So, our advice is when you are applying to get registered with any Irish Bank like: AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB or Danske Bank – do not over estimate how many SEPA direct debit customers you will have.  Your bank will ask what level of loan you will need, they will also ask what the typical size of your direct debits are.  The higher the loan the higher probability it will be rejected.

So, if you are a Gym, start off low, at say 5K, make sure you get approval and then you can extend the forecast in the future.  Any Irish Bank like AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB or Danske Bank will extend your credit line, once the trust has been built up and established.

You have SEPA Approval from AIB, BOI, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB or Danske Bank…what next?

So, once all the paper work is completed and you have been approved, your business will receive a Originator Identification Number (SDD OIN or an OIN) – this code will be a part of your SEPA xml file.  No business can process SEPA Direct Debits without this code.

This OIN is linked to the business bank account, and any payment will go into the BIC and IBAN linked to that OIN number.

Why do businesses have to apply for this SEPA Loan?

Now, this SEPA direct debit loan of sorts is in place for good reason.  The consumers rights for Direct Debits are very strict and all Irish banks must adhere to them.  No questions asked, if a consumer has a direct debit taken from their account, that consumer has 8 weeks to request a reversal of that transaction.  No questions asked.  All Irish Bank, AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB or Danske Bank MUST adhere to this.

And from 8 weeks even up to 13 months, but this is a request, 8 weeks to 13 months, the criteria is a little different for a refund.  Questions will be asked!  All in all, the consumer rights are extremely high.

Now that you have approval to take Direct Debit, you have to generate an SEPA XML file which you submit to your bank…this is where we can help…all customers with all Irish banks, such as: AIB, Bank of Ireland (BOI), Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB or Danske Bank..try it for FREE today…

Try our Software from SEPA XML GENERATOR today…

Contact the SEPA XML GENERATOR team today and we will provide you with a free SEPA XML GENERATOR account.  Granting you full access to our SEPA Software which you can test with your bank and experience the SEPA software for yourself before you make any decision to purchase a license.