Everything about SEPA direct debit
If you have a Stripe account connected to Tentary, you can offer payment by SEPA Direct Debit for your products. This payment method has some peculiarities, as well as advantages and disadvantages. Before activating SEPA Direct Debit, you should familiarize yourself with these points.
How do SEPA payments work
SEPA Direct Debit allows payment for products by direct debit directly from a customer's bank account. For this, a customer provides their name and IBAN of their bank account at the time of purchase. Subsequently, a direct debit mandate is automatically created and sent to the customer via email. After that, an attempt is made to collect the money from the customer's bank account. This process takes an average of 7-8 working days.
Why use SEPA Direct Debit
A major advantage of SEPA payment is its wide reach. Over 500 million people in more than 34 countries can make payments using this method. It is also preferred for large and recurring payments, with a lower likelihood of bank account information expiring or being declined compared to credit card payments.
However, due to the way it functions, SEPA Direct Debits also come with various risks that need to be considered, requiring the individual activation of the payment method for each product.
Failed Payments
SEPA Direct Debits can fail for various reasons, such as when a bank account is blocked or does not have sufficient funds.
In such cases, you will receive an email from us with an explanation of why the payment could not be processed.
Disputed Payments
Customers have the option to reverse payments within eight weeks of the direct debit without giving reasons through their bank. All reversals within this period are automatically accepted.
After the eight-week period and up to 13 months after the debit, payments can only be disputed if the direct debit is considered unauthorized.
Disputes can also occur if the bank is unable to debit the account due to an issue (e.g., account block or insufficient funds), but the funds for the payment have already been provided.
In such cases, you will receive information from Stripe regarding the dispute.
Refunds
Customers can dispute a SEPA Direct Debit even after being refunded by their bank, resulting in two credits for the same payment (dispute + refund). This can be exploited fraudulently.
Therefore, Stripe recommends issuing a refund for SEPA Direct Debit payments only under the following circumstances:
- The customer is trustworthy and verified
- You have confirmed to the customer that you will refund the payment
- 7 working days have passed since the payment
If you initiate a refund, you should inform the customer that it may take up to five working days for the money to reach their bank account.
Activation of SEPA Direct Debit
To activate SEPA payments, first connect a Stripe account to your Tentary account. Then, open a product for editing and activate SEPA payment in the "Price" section.
In addition, you have the choice of whether the customer receives access to your product directly after purchase or only when the payment has been received in your account (default setting).
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
What are the requirements for activating SEPA Direct Debit?
In order to offer SEPA Direct Debits for your products, you must have a Stripe account linked with Tentary. You can then activate SEPA payment for each product individually on the product edit page.
Who can use SEPA Direct Debits?
SEPA payment only works for payments in Euro and can be used by all countries or banks that are part of SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area). These are 34 countries and over 500 million people.
Special feature: Customers with the following country codes in the IBAN number must always provide a billing address when making a purchase in order to complete the purchase:
AD, PF, TF, GI, GB, GG, VA, IM, JE, MC, NC, BL, PM, SM, CH, and WF
This is a requirement of the SEPA process.
How long does it take for the money to reach my account?
It takes an average of 7-8 working days, but it can take up to 14 working days. We will inform you once the money has been received.
When do customers get access to my product?
By default, customers receive access to your product via email once the money has been received in your account.
You can override this setting and deliver your product immediately after payment. However, the risk of payment failure and the product being delivered lies with you in that case.
When you activate SEPA for a product, you have the option right below to activate immediate delivery via a checkbox.
When do customers receive an invoice for their purchase?
Customers always receive an invoice immediately after ordering (if requested). However, this invoice initially shows as "unpaid" and has "unknown" as the delivery date.
Once the payment is received, the customer will receive the invoice via email with the status "paid" and the correct delivery date.
What fees are incurred for payment by direct debit?
In addition to Tentary's transaction fee, Stripe charges a payment fee for each SEPA payment, disputes, and failed payments.
SEPA Direct Debit: €0.35
Failed Payments: €3.50
Disputed Payments: €15
For the latest fees for SEPA Direct Debits, it is best to check with Stripe:
https://stripe.com/pricing/local-payment-methods
Do customers receive a Direct Debit Mandate?
Yes. Customers receive a link to the SEPA Mandate via email immediately after purchase.