SEPA for corporate

SEPA Direct Debit Debtor

The SEPA direct debit for debtor consists of two services; CORE and B2B and can be used for euro-dominated payments throughout the SEPA. The CORE service is targeted for corporates and consumers, whereas the B2B service is targeted for corporates only. 

As a debtor you need to sign a service agreement with Nordea. This is done by contacting your own Nordea branch. 

Your benefits:

• An easy way to pay your recurring domestic and cross-border payments in time and with correct details.
• With one euro account you can order and pay for services from both domestic and foreign companies.
• Both the creditor and the debtor must comply with the same rules in all transactions.
• Possibility to have payments refunded.

Cancellation and refund

You can cancel a SEPA direct debit request before the due date in Netbank or by contacting Nordea Customer Service. You must cancel the request no later than by 12.00 on the banking day preceding the due date. 

You can request a refund of a payment up to eight (8) weeks from the debit date in Netbank or by contacting Nordea Customer Service. However, requesting a refund of a SEPA direct debit request does not release you from the payment obligation towards the creditor and you should contact the creditor about the payment directly.

Unauthorised debits from your account

If you suspect that a SEPA direct debit has been unjustifiably made (for example, a double payment, no mandate, incorrect amount), you have the right to request a refund within thirteen (13) months from the debit date. Please contact your cash management adviser at Nordea for further information.

Mandate

When a creditor offers you SEPA direct debit as a means of payment, you will receive a mandate to fill in. The signed mandate should be returned to the creditor. When using the SEPA Direct Debit B2B service a copy of the mandate should be sent to Nordea for registration.

The mandatory information required in a mandate has been specified on the European level by the European Payment CouncilOpens new window. By signing the mandate, you authorise the creditor to debit your payment account. The debit account you have specified in the mandate needs to be the same account you connect to Nordea's service agreement and you need to be authorised to use the account.

The creditor cannot verify whether the account number given in the mandate is correct or whether the party that has given the mandate has the right to use the account. You must agree on any changes to the mandate directly with your creditor.

The creditor is responsible for ensuring that the mandate is up to date. If you want to revoke the mandate or change the means of payment, you must contact the creditor directly and agree on the changes.

Terms and conditions

Please read the terms and conditions of the service before making the agreement and starting to use the service.

Service specific terms and conditions for SEPA Direct Debit Debtor Services (pdf, 1 MB)Opens new window 

General terms and conditions for corporate cash management services (pdf, 357 KB)Opens new window

Service terms and conditions for payment services (pdf, 399 KB)Opens new window

SEPA Direct Debit Creditor

The SEPA Direct Debit Creditor service enables you to debit the debtors’ EUR accounts in the SEPA area. You can use SEPA Direct Debit Creditor service to collect funds from consumers and corporate customers who have given their prior approval to it with a mandate. The SEPA Direct Debit Creditor service has two optional services: CORE and B2B.

Your benefits

The SEPA Direct Debit Creditor service provides you a simple and cost-efficient way to collect funds from SEPA-countries.  It enables liquidity centralisation, certainty of payment completion within a predetermined time cycle, and the possibility to optimise and streamline internal processes with easy reconciliation of payments received. It also enables to start investigation immediately if transaction has been rejected or refunded.

You can use SEPA Direct Debit Creditor Services as an alternative for SEPA Credit transfers when collecting euros in the SEPA area.

How to implement the service?

When considering to start using the SEPA Direct Debit service we recommend that you go through the following steps.

• Decide on which SDD type – CORE and/or B2B should be implemented.
• Evaluate your current systems identifying i.e. file formats and channels used today and assess needed changes.
• Evaluate your current collection process  and make a plan for your new collection routine with your sales people and your stakeholders.
• Design of the mandates deciding on the layout and the text, including creation of the mandate handling process.
• Make a plan for internal training.
• Apply for Creditor Identifier.

You will need to have a EUR account with Nordea in Finland and to sign an agreement with Nordea in order to start using the SEPA Direct Debit Creditor service.

More information on how to get started can be found in our checklist (pdf, 536 KB)Opens new window  and in the service descriptionOpens new window and technical descriptionOpens new window. 

Mandate

The Mandate is designed by either you or the debtor. The content of the Mandate is standardized, but the text in the CORE and B2B mandates differ from each other. You must ensure that the Mandate contains both the mandatory legal wording and the mandatory information.

A SEPA Direct Debit collection always requires a Mandate which is your power of attorney from debtor.

With the Mandate the debtor authorizes you to collect a payment and to instruct the debtor’s (payer’s) bank to debit the collection. The mandate must to be signed by the debtor (payer) before the first collection and for the B2B service the debtor must forward a copy of the Mandate to their own bank for registration. The original mandate must be archived by you until the mandate has expired which is 36 months after the last initiated collection.

The Service Description for Mandate, including Mandate templatesOpens new window

Creditor Identifier

The Creditor Identifier (CI) represents a unique identifier of Creditor, meaning that each CI refers to one Creditor only. The CI enables Debtors and Debtor Banks to identify a Creditor independently from its account relationship with any Creditor Bank. The combination of the CI with the unique mandate reference forms the unique SDD mandate key. 

Nordea can assist you in obtaining your own CI.

Terms and conditions

Please read the terms and conditions of the service before making the agreement and starting to use the service.

Service specific terms and conditions for SEPA Direct Debit Collection Services (pdf, 367 KB)Opens new window

General terms and conditions for corporate cash management services (pdf, 357 KB)Opens new window

Service terms and conditions for payment services  (pdf, 424 KB)Opens new window

SEPA Instant Credit Transfer for corporate

As a customer of Nordea, you have the advantage of being among the first ones in Finland to use this service. The service will become available to you in stages. You are now able to receive SEPA Instant Credit Transfers from European banks.

Nordea transfers the funds to your euro-denominated account immediately once the payment has arrived to Nordea as a SEPA Instant Credit Transfer. No additional fees will be charged - you will receive the funds to your account faster and at the same rate as with SEPA Credit Transfer.

There is a maximum limit of 100,000 euros per single payment which applies to all banks offering the service.

The service is in its initial phase in Europe and the number of participating banks will grow gradually. The banks can decide themselves in what schedule they will start to offer the service.

Benefits to your company:

• The use of a new European instant payment service
• Reception of payments from other banks whenever, also on weekends and public holidays
• Immediate reception of funds and improved liquidity management
• The SEPA Instant Credit Transfer amount is transferred to your company’s account in full.
• Same affordable pricing as in SEPA Credit Transfer
• The banks offering the service follow the same common rules when handling SEPA Instant Credit Transfers.

Receiving SEPA Instant Credit Transfers

No action is needed from you to receive a payment. The only requirement is that your company has a euro-denominated account at Nordea in Finland.

In order for you to receive a SEPA Instant Credit Transfer, the payer’s bank needs to be able to send SEPA Instant Credit Transfers.

Sending SEPA Instant Credit Transfers

Sending SEPA Instant Credit Transfers will be possible for you at a later stage.

Terms

Nordea's General Terms Governing Electronic Services for Companies (pdf, 253 KB)Opens new window

Nordea’s general terms and conditions for euro-denominated payments transmitted within the Single Euro Payments Area (pdf, 421 KB)Opens new window

General agreement terms and conditions governing services with access codes (pdf, 301 KB)Opens new window

General agreement terms and conditions governing services with access codes from 15.11.2023 (pdf, 274 KB)Opens new window

Secure use of access codes (pdf, 509 KB)Opens new window