A New Challenge: The EU SEPA Payment Scheme.

RM&AS advises a German client on the key Spanish features of the forthcoming EU SEPA payment scheme.  

The client is interested in knowing the internal possible caveats of the intended Spanish regime in comparison with the German one that may require specific correction actions.

From a legal point of view, Regulation No 260/2012 of 14 March, establishing technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro and amending Regulation (EC) No 924/2009, guarantees the continuity of valid payment mandates issued prior to 1 February 2014.

The mandate must be considered to be the payer’s authorization, regardless of its underlying form or how it is available in the payment circuit. The process involves the procedures to transfer validly existing payment transaction authorizations (the legacy) to the new SEPA direct debit core scheme.

The legacy scheme and the SEPA scheme have coexisted since the coming into effect of the Payment Services Directive and the implementation of the core SEPA direct debit scheme, so both SEPA mandates and existing mandates can be issued up to the migration milestone final date: 1st February 2014.