SEPA Mandate Guide

Contents

1.0 Thepurposeofthisdocument 2

2.0 Whymandatesarerequired 2

2.1  When a new mandate is required  2

2.2  Cancellation of a mandate  2

2.3   When to amend a mandate  2

3.0 MandateInformationandFields 4

3.1   Details of the mandate fields as defined by     4 the European Payments Council (EPC) 

3.1.1  Unique Mandate Reference (UMR) Details  7

3.1.2  End to End ID  7

3.2  Legal text  7

3.2.1  Core Scheme Legal Text  7

3.2.2  B2B Scheme Legal Text  8

3.2.3 Translations  8

4.0 TheSEPAMandateLifecycle 9

5.0 Appendices 10

5.1  Appendix 1: Useful Links  10

5.1.1  France  10

5.1.2  Germany  10

5.1.3  Ireland  10

5.1.4  Italy  10

5.1.5  Portugal  11

5.1.6  Spain  11

5.2  Appendix 2: Sample Core Scheme Mandate  12

5.3  Appendix 3: Sample B2B Scheme Mandate    13

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1.0 The purpose of this documentThe purpose of this document is to assist Barclays SEPA Direct Debit customers in the creation and management of SEPA compliant Direct Debit mandates. This document includes explanations as to why mandates are necessary, which party is responsible for storage and verification, what information is required in mandates, how mandates vary between the Core and B2B schemes, and sample mandates for each of the countries in which Barclays operates. There are also links to further information on each subject in the appendices, as this document is only intended to be a guide and therefore does not include all available information.

The information in this guide is in line with the EPC guidance. The information is also accurate as at time of printing.

For details about which mandate fields are required in electronic files delivered to Barclays please refer to the message implementation  guide (MIG).

2.0 Why mandates are requiredA mandate signed by a debtor fulfils two requirements:

a)   It authorises a creditor to initiate collections to debit the debtor’s bank account and 

b)   It allows the debtor bank to comply with those instructions in accordance with the SEPA Scheme Rulebook. 

Mandate forms to be completed by debtors are usually provided by creditors themselves. All SEPA mandates must conform to the respective SEPA Direct Debit Scheme Rulebook (links to these can be found in the appendix). If any of the mandatory information is missing on a mandate form, then the collection could be disputed as an unauthorised collection for up to 13 months after the settlement date. 

The creditor is responsible for the storage of original mandates and the transmission of dematerialised mandate information with every collection request. It is a legal requirement that the creditor does not alter any content in the process of dematerialising the mandate into electronic form. The creditor has the option to use a third party for mandate management.

Note that, at present, a paper mandate is required in most countries. However in a domestic situation in certain countries within the  SEPA area, a paperless mandate may be permitted, For example, in Ireland, BPFI have issued guidance on paperless mandates –  see pages 37 and 38 in the Creditors Guide: http://www.bpfi.ie/customer-assist/business-customers/sepa-guides-for-business/

2.1 When a new mandate is required

A new mandate must be obtained from a debtor in the following situations:

a)   There is no existing SEPA direct debit mandate

b)   More than 36 months have passed since the last SEPA Direct    Debit collection

c)   The debtor has revoked his mandate to the creditor

d)   If the last direct debit collection occurred with the “Final” or “OneOff” sequence

e)   If the mandate has reference to a drawn contract and that contract has been fulfilled

f)   After a change of debtor (e.g. change of tenant).

2.2 Cancellation of a mandate

If a mandate is cancelled, then the signed paper mandate should be stored by the creditor according to the applicable national legal requirements and as a minimum for a period as long as the refund period defined for an Unauthorised Transaction (currently thirteen months). 

2.3 When to amend a mandate

The creditor or debtor can amend a mandate at any time. When an amendment is made, the dematerialised mandate information, including the amended information and amendment marker, is sent to the creditor bank as part of the next collection. 

Reasons for amendments are:

a)    If the creditor needs to change the unique mandate reference (UMR) due to internal organisational changes

b)   The creditor identity has changed due to a merger, acquisition, spin-off or other organisational change

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c)   The creditor has changed their name

d)   The debtor decides to use another account within the same bank or in another bank

Should the reason for amendment be a change of bank account to another bank, the next collection should be sent as a ‘first’. If the identity of the creditor has changed, the ‘new’ creditor must inform the debtor of the related mandate amendment by any means to avoid dispute of the collection.

The creditor should inform the debtor of any changes to be made to the mandate in advance. This is especially important in the B2B scheme, because the debtor must inform the debtor bank of any B2B mandate amendments before the next collection related to that mandate.

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Line  Data Element  Mandatory  Optional  Completed by Creditor  Completed by Debtor

Header  SEPA Direct Debit Mandate  X    X 

Title  Unique Mandate Reference (UMR)  X†    X 

1  Name of the Debtor  X    X  X

2  Address of the Debtor  X    X  X

3  Postal code/city of the Debtor  X    X  X

4  Debtor’s country of residence  X    X  X

5  Debtor’s account number IBAN  X      X

6  The BIC code of the Debtor Bank  X*      X

7  Creditor company name  X    X 

8  Creditor’s identifier  X    X 

9  Creditor’s address street and number  X    X 

10  Creditor’s postal code and city  X    X 

11  Country of the Creditor  X    X 

12  Type of payment  X    X 

13  Signature place and time  X      X

Under line 13  Signatures  X      X

14  Debtor identification code    X    X

15  Name of the Debtor Reference Party    X    X

16  Identification code of the Debtor    X    X   Reference Party

17  Name of the Creditor Reference Party    X  X 

18  Identification code of the Creditor    X  X     Reference Party

19  Underlying contract identifier    X  X  X

20  Contract description    X  X  X

List of Mandate Fields

* The BIC code is optional unless the debtor bank is located in a non-EEA SEPA country.†The Unique Mandate Reference is not always available at the time of signature of the mandate. If this is the case, the UMR must be communicated to the Debtor by the Creditor  as soon as it is available and must be a part of the dematerialised mandate in all cases.

The legal text must be shown below the header and title, and followed by fields 1-13 and the signature. Although there is no set order for lines 1-13 we recommend, that should the creditor choose to include the optional fields of 14-20, that these optional fields be below the signature line as they are not part of the legal agreement.

3.0 Mandate Information and FieldsAll mandates must be in at least one and up to three languages of the country of residence of the debtor. English should be included  if the creditor is not able to determine with reasonable certainty the language of the debtor in advance of the mandate being created.

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Mandatory/Optional  Field  Description

Mandatoryfields  Header  ForCore     SEPA Direct Debit Mandate

    ForB2B     SEPA Business to Business Direct Debit Mandate 

  Legal Text  ForCore

AftertheHeader: By signing this mandate form, you authorise (A) {NAME OF CREDITOR} to send instructions to your bank to debit your account and (B) your bank to debit your account in accordance with the instructions from {NAME OF CREDITOR}. As part of your rights, you are entitled to a refund from your bank under the terms and conditions of your agreement with your bank. A refund must be claimed within 8 weeks starting from the date on which your account was debited.  Please complete all the fields marked *. 

Containedwithinthemandate: Note: Your rights regarding the above mandate are explained in a statement that you can obtain from your bank. 

ForB2B

AftertheHeader:By signing this mandate form, you authorise (A) {NAME OF CREDITOR} to send instructions to your bank to debit your account and (B) your bank to debit your account in accordance with the instructions from {NAME OF CREDITOR}.  This mandate is only intended for business-to-business transactions. You are not entitled to a refund from your bank after your account has been debited, but you are entitled to request your bank not to debit your account up until the day on which the payment is due.  Please complete all the fields marked *. 

   Unique Mandate Reference (UMR)   Identifies for a given Creditor each Mandate signed by any    Debtor for that Creditor. Field length: 35 characters

  Name of the Debtor  The name of the Debtor. Field length: 70 characters

  Address of the Debtor  The address of the Debtor. Field length: 70 characters

  Postal code/city of the Debtor  The postal code and city of the Debtor

  Debtor’s country of residence  The country of residence of the Debtor. Field length: 2 characters

  Debtor’s account number IBAN  The account number (IBAN) of the account of the Debtor     Field length: Maximum 34 characters 

  The BIC code of the Debtor Bank  The 8 or 11 character ISO code assigned by SWIFT and used      to identify the Debtor Bank

  Creditor company name  The name of the Creditor. Field length: 70 characters

3.1 Details of the mandate fields as defined by the European Payments Council (EPC):

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Mandatoryfields

Mandatoryfields

Mandatory/Optional  Field  Description

Mandatoryfields  Creditor’s identifier  Unique Creditor Identifier usually provided to the creditor by the     creditor bank. The Creditor Identifier has a different format in     each country. See the link below for a further description of the     Creditor Identifier formats.     https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/document-library/guidance-     documents/creditor-identifier-overview Field length: 35 characters

  Creditor’s address street and number  The address of the Creditor. Field length: 70 characters

  Creditor’s postal code and city  The postal code and city of the Creditor

  Country of the Creditor  The country of residence of the Creditor. Field length: 2 characters

  Type of payment  “one-off” and “recurrent” are the only two available values.      Field length: 35 characters

  Signature place and date  City and date when the mandate is signed by the Debtor.       Date in ISO Date format

  Signature(s)  Signature of the Debtor(s) authorising the collection of money     by the Creditor according to the information in the mandate

Optionalattributes   Debtor identification code  A code determined by the Debtor in agreement with the  forinformationonly    Creditor to facilitate the identification of the Debtor

Name of the Debtor Reference Party   Text relating to a Debtor Reference Party. This is included only for the purpose of assisting the Debtor and/or Creditor in managing their payments

Identification code of the Debtor   A code supplied by the Debtor and delivered to the Creditor asReference Party   part of the completed Mandate. Information relating to a Debtor 

Reference Party is included only for the purpose of assisting the Debtor and/or Creditor in managing their payments

Name of the Creditor Reference Party   Text relating to a Creditor Reference Party. This is included  only for the purpose of assisting the Debtor and/or Creditor  in managing their payments 

Identification code of the Creditor  A code supplied by the Creditor and delivered unaltered to the Reference Party  Debtor. Information relating to a Creditor Reference Party is   included only for the purpose of assisting the Debtor and/or   Creditor in managing their payments

Underlying contract identifier   The identifier is defined in terms of layout and content by  the Creditor. It may contain elements for self-control such as check-digits

Contract description   Free text relevant to describe the underlying contract  associated with the mandate

3.1 Details of the mandate fields as defined by the European Payments Council (EPC):

The requirements above reflect stand-alone mandates. Mandates can be stand-alone or part of a contract (combined) between the creditor and the debtor. All the mandatory fields in the above table must be present in stand-alone mandates. When the mandate is part of a contract; some of the fields (such as the creditor and/or debtor details) may be part of the associated contract and do not need to be repeated in the mandate. To see more information on how to format a mandate combined with a contract, please see the EPC’s document “Guidance for the Appearance of Mandates” (link in Appendix 1).

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The following must be taken into account:

1.   The Unique Mandate Reference (UMR) can be populated in the mandate by the creditor before or after the mandate is received and signed by the debtor. If the UMR is not available at the time of signing of the mandate, the creditor must make the UMR available to the debtor before the first collection. In any case the UMR will be present in the collection as part of the Mandate Related Information. The collection will be rejected if the UMR has been changed and not flagged as an amendment on a recurrent collection.

2.   The debtor must ensure that all the mandatory information is present in the mandate before signing and sending it back  to the creditor.

3.   The BIC code of the debtor bank is not mandatory unless the debtor bank is located in a non-EEA SEPA country.

4.  The reverse side of the Mandate document may contain the same wording as the front side in a second language when this is appropriate.

5.  The mandate must be clearly separated from any other text. No additional material can appear within the boundary of the mandate.

6.  Clear instructions to the Debtor for the return of the form must be shown on the face of the mandate.

3.1.1 Unique Mandate Reference (UMR) Details

•  The UMR identifies for a given creditor each mandate signed by a debtor for that creditor. The UMR must be unique for each Mandate  in combination with the Creditor Identifier. This alphanumeric reference can be up to 35 characters long and is case sensitive.

•  It can be beneficial to have some form of identifier embedded in the UMR which is recognisable to the creditor.

•  It is recommended that this should not include the Debtor’s bank account details. In certain countries, including France, it is forbidden  to include debtor account details within the UMR.

•   In order to increase the possibility that the complete UMR will be shown on a debtor bank statement it would be advisable to keep  the total length to less than 16 characters.

•   The UMR should be unique for one mandate and should only be used in one SEPA Direct Debit Scheme, e.g. Core or B2B. The risk of using the same UMR for both schemes is that if a debtor wishes to block one direct debit collection using the UMR, they may in turn block all other direct debits that have the same mandate reference.

3.1.2 End to End ID

Direct debit originators should ensure that they apply a unique End to End ID to each SEPA Direct Debit. If an originator generates multiple transactions with the same End to End ID then this may result in transactions being rejected by some debtor banks. 

For customers who take advantage of the Barclays SEPA Direct conversion service and submit in non XML formats, then Barclays SEPA Direct will generate a unique End to End ID and hence this situation will not arise. However, where customers are generating SEPA Direct Debit files in the XML ISO 20022 format, they should ensure that they comply with this requirement. 

It would be advisable to ensure uniqueness over a period of at least 13 months to cover the unauthorised refund timeline.

3.2 Legal text 

Both Core and B2B Schemes have specific legal text that must be included in each mandate.

In addition to the following requirements, it would be advisable to check country-specific documents for any additional local requirements. For instance, in France consumer data protection laws require the addition of the following mandatory text:

“Les informations contenues dans le présent mandat, qui doit être complété, sont destinées à n’être utilisées par le créancier que pour la gestion de sa relation avec son client. Elles pourront donner lieu à l’exercice, par ce dernier, de ses droits d’oppositions, d’accès et de rectification tels que prévus aux articles 38 et suivants de la loi no 78-17 du 6 janvier 1978 relative à l’informatique, aux fichiers et aux libertés.”

3.2.1 Core Scheme Legal Text

“By signing this mandate form, you authorise (A) {NAME OF CREDITOR} to send instructions to your bank to debit your account and  (B) your bank to debit your account in accordance with the instructions from {NAME OF CREDITOR}. 

As part of your rights, you are entitled to a refund from your bank under the terms and conditions of your agreement with your bank.  A refund must be claimed within 8 weeks starting from the date on which your account was debited.” 

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If optional fields are included in the mandate, then mark mandatory fields with an asterisk and include the statement “  Please complete all the fields marked *.”

A SEPA Core mandate must also contain the following legal wording:  “Your rights are explained in a statement that you can obtain from your bank.” 

3.2.2 B2B Scheme Legal Text

The information and fields required for a B2B Scheme mandate are the same as those required for a Core Scheme Mandate with the addition of the following legal text in the header of the mandate: 

“By signing this mandate form, you authorise (A) {NAME OF CREDITOR} to send instructions to your bank to debit your account and (B) your bank to debit your account in accordance with the instructions from {NAME OF CREDITOR}. This mandate is only intended for business-to-business transactions. You are not entitled to a refund from your bank after your account has been debited, but you are entitled to request your bank not to debit your account in accordance with the instructions up until the day on which the payment is due.”

If optional fields are included in the mandate, then mark mandatory fields with an asterisk and include the statement “Please complete  all the fields marked *.”

3.2.3 Translations

A link to mandate text translations in the SEPA languages is available in the appendices.

Page 8 of 13

1.   The creditor issues the mandate to the debtor. This can be a personalised mandate with some of the information pre-filled by the creditor or a non-personalised generic mandate as part of a commercial publication. 

2.   The debtor (either an individual or a corporate) receives the mandate, completes his information (or confirms that the information  pre-filled by the creditor is correct) and signs the mandate.

3.   The debtor sends the completed and signed mandate back to the creditor.

4.   The creditor reviews the mandate and accepts/rejects it.

5.   The creditor is responsible for storing the original mandate, together with any information regarding amendments relating to the mandate or its cancellation.

6.   The creditor dematerialises the mandate and sends the information to the creditor bank with the first collection and every collection thereafter.

7.   The debtor bank is obliged to check the accuracy of the mandate on the first collection and check for changes to the mandate on every collection thereafter in the B2B Scheme but does not have to check it in the Core Scheme unless the debtor claims an unauthorised transaction has occured.

8.  When debtor banks validate a collection of a recurrent direct debit, the mandate will be validated against the following four      attributes; Creditor Identifier, UMR, Customer BIC & IBAN. For a recurrent direct debit, banks will validate that the customer BIC    and IBAN and the Creditor Identifier are valid and will then match the UMR against the one already stored. If the two UMRs do not    match, the collection will be rejected.

9.   The mandate expires after 36 months from the last presented direct debit transaction. Even if that collection was rejected, returned, or refunded, the creditor must cancel the mandate 36 months after the last presented collection. Any further collections will require a new mandate.

4.0 The SEPA Mandate LifecycleThe following images describe the steps in the creation of and completion of a mandate.

6.CreditorBankB2B check

Creditor 1.Mandate

3.Completed&SignedMandate

4.Creditor 5.Archive

7.DebtorBank

2.Debtor

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5.0 Appendices

5.1 Appendix 1: Useful Links

SEPA Direct Debit Core Rulebook https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/what-we-do/sepa-direct-debit/sepa-direct-debit-core-rulebook

SEPA Direct Debit Business to Business Rulebook https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/what-we-do/sepa-direct-debit/sepa-direct-debit-b2b-rulebook 

EPC’s Guidance for the Appearance of Mandateshttps://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/document-library/guidance-documents/guidelines-appearance-mandates-sepa-direct-debit-core-scheme

Core Mandate Text Translations

https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/other/core-sdd-mandate-translations

B2B Mandate Text Translationshttps://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/other/sepa-b2b-dd-mandate-translations

5.1.1 France

Sample French CORE mandate is available in Item 5 of the following linkhttp://www.cfonb.org/Default.aspx?lid=1&rid=122&rvid=143

Sample French B2B mandate is available on page 45 of the following documenthttp://www.cfonb.org/fichiers/20150914141740_2.5_Brochure_Prelevement_SEPA_Interentreprises_V3_1__Juin_2015.pdf

Please refer to page 6 section “Legal Text” which refers to additional specific text required on French mandates.

 5.1.2 GermanySample German Core Mandatehttps://die-dk.de/media/files/120720_DK_Beispiele_Muster_SEPA_Lastschriftmandat-SDD_Basis-Core_09072012.pdf

Sample German B2B Mandatehttps://die-dk.de/media/files/120720_DK_Beispiele_Muster_SEPA-Firmenlastschrift-Mandat-SDD_Firmen-B2B_09072012.pdf

5.1.3 Ireland

SEPA Creditors Guide published by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland. Sample mandates available on page 15.http://www.bpfi.ie/customer-assist/business-customers/sepa-guides-for-business/

5.1.4 Italy

Italian SEDA compliant mandate templates can be found on pages 40 to 43 of the Interbank Agreement prepared by the Italian Banking  Association. This document will be updated from to time and is available at the link: http://www.sepaitalia.eu/uploads/seda%20-%20 interbank%20agreement_rel%203%200a.pdf

Note that Barclays Italy offers the SEDA service. 

Page 10 of 13

5.1.5 Portugal

Portuguese Core Mandatehttps://www.bportugal.pt/sites/default/files/anexos/documentos-relacionados/autorizacao_de_debito_directo_sepa-core-022016.pdf

Portuguese B2B Mandatehttps://www.bportugal.pt/sites/default/files/anexos/documentos-relacionados/autorizacao_de_debito_directo_sepa-b2b-022016.pdf

5.1.6 Spain

Spanish SEPA Core and B2B Mandate Guidelineshttp://www.aebanca.es/cs/groups/public/documents/folletos/folleto-201302916.pdf 

Page 11 of 13

SEPA Core Direct Debit Mandate

Company X77 Stair RoadLondon, SE3 8DF United Kingdom 

Creditor ID: GB14ZZZSDDBARC12345698706540

By signing this mandate form, you authorise (A) <Company X> to send instructions to your bank to debit your account and (B) your bank to debit your account in accordance with the instructions from <Company X>.

As part of your rights, you are entitled to a refund from your bank under the terms and conditions of your agreement with your bank.  A refund must be claimed within 8 weeks starting from the date on which your account was debited. Your rights regarding this mandate are explained in a statement that you can obtain from your bank.

All fields are mandatory unless otherwise stated.

5.2 Appendix 2: Sample Core Scheme Mandate

Page 12 of 13

Company Logo

In respect of the contract (Optional)

Type of Payment

Your bank BIC*

Your account number (IBAN)

Mandate Reference (Maximum 35 characters)

 

Address

Postcode

City

Country

Postcode

Your address

Your name

Recurrent (Mandate can be used more than once) One-off (Mandate can only be used once)

SignatureDate of Signature

City/town in which you are signing

D D M M Y Y

*  Only required if your account is located in a non-EEA SEPA country.

SEPA Business to Business Direct Debit Mandate

Company X77 Stair RoadLondon, SE3 8DF United Kingdom 

Creditor ID: GB14ZZZSDDBARC12345698706540

By signing this mandate form, you authorise (A) <Company X> to send instructions to your bank to debit your account and (B) your bank to debit your account in accordance with the instructions from <Company X>

This mandate is only intended for business-to-business transactions. You are not entitled to a refund from your bank after your account has been debited, but you are entitled to request your bank not to debit your account in accordance with the instructions  up until the day on which the payment is due. Please contact your bank for detailed procedures in such a case. 

All fields are mandatory unless otherwise stated.

5.3 Appendix 3: Sample B2B Scheme Mandate

In respect of the contract (Optional)

Type of Payment

Your bank BIC*

Your account number (IBAN)

Mandate Reference (Maximum 35 characters)

 

Address

Postcode

City

Country

Postcode

Your address

Your name

Recurrent (Mandate can be used more than once) One-off (Mandate can only be used once)

SignatureDate of Signature

City/town in which you are signing

D D M M Y Y

Page 13 of 13

Company Logo

*  Only required if your account is located in a non-EEA SEPA country.

Barclays is a trading name of Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiaries. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register No. 122702). Registered in England. Registered number is 1026167 with registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. Item Ref: BM412356. June 2017. 9914546