
Direct Debit
The debit system is still an extremely popular method of payment. Find out what you have to take into consideration when offering this payment method.
Along with the mandate reference, the creditor identification number clearly identifies a direct debit mandate based on date that can be automated. In other words, is a mandatory feature to identify the creditor of a direct debit.
Every company using SEPA direct debits as creditor must clearly identify themselve. This guarantees that the collection of a corresponding claim from the account of the debtor or customer can only be permitted to the respective creditor. The validity for corporate or direct debits in the SEPA direct debit system is not limited in time. However, the SEPA mandate becomes invalid after three years of inactivity.
Creditors benefit of a solid position in the case of disagreements, legal disputes and attempted fraud by phishing or hacker attacks. Customers are reassured by having the possibility to always access their account, increasing customer trust and relationship.
The creditor identification number is used as part of the SEPA direct debit procedure. Other names it includes are creditor identifier (CI) or unique credit identifier (UCI).
The UCI is a number composed of up to 35 numbers, depending on the country. Creditor identification numbers begin with the ISO country code, consisting of 2 letters such as FR for France or DE for Germany. The third and fourth positions are check digits, based on the bank account number (IBAN). Then, the creditor business code completes the creditor ID. It is composed of the business area and country-specific characteristics. German creditors ID are made up of 18 numbers and given by the German Bundesbank, unlike many neighboring countries.
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