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SEPA Direct Debit

Learn how to accept SEPA Direct Debit payments.

This is the SEPA Direct Debit logo.  Read more

Learn about pricing and settlement services for SEPA Direct Debit on adyen.com.

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Direct Debit is a standardized payment method for bank-to-bank transactions within the European Union.

Both one-off and recurring payments are supported by SEPA. Due to the risk of chargebacks, we do not recommend using SEPA for one-off payments or the sale of physical goods.

Payment type Payment flow Countries Currencies Recurring Refunds Partial refunds Multiple partial refunds Separate captures Partial captures Multiple partial captures Chargebacks
Direct Debit Direct International EUR checkmark
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Chargebacks

If a shopper for some reason wants the funds from a payment returned, they can ask their bank for a refund. This is referred to as a chargeback.

For SEPA, the chargeback process gives significant consumer rights to the shopper. They have:

  • Eight weeks to dispute a SEPA payment without providing a reason.
  • Thirteen months to dispute an unauthorised or incorrect SEPA payment when they provide evidence to their bank.

You cannot defend SEPA chargebacks. These will always result in the shopper receiving a refund.

A SEPA chargeback notification can indicate that:

  • The shopper disputed the charge.
  • There were insufficient funds in the shopper's bank account.
  • The bank account was inactive.
  • Direct debit is blocked on this bank account, either in general or for this creditor specifically.
  • There was a technical error.

For guidelines when a dispute is raised, see SEPA chargebacks and SEPA Dispute reason codes.

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