Bank debits allow you to pull funds directly from your client's bank account for one-time or recurring payments. They’re commonly used for recurring billing or larger transactions where lower fees are important.
Because bank debits can take several business days to confirm, they may not be ideal if you need to deliver services immediately.
⚠️ Bank Debits for Practice Better Payments is currently in an Early Access Program and is not yet available for all users.
The bank debits supported through Practice Better Payments include ACH Direct Debit (ACH), Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD), SEPA Direct Debit, Bacs Direct Debit (UK), BECS Direct Debit Australia, BECS Direct Debit New Zealand.
Review the parent article for an overview and links to each respective payment method article.
In this article:
- SEPA Direct Debit
- SEPA Direct Debit Processing Fees
- Timing of SEPA Direct Debit Payouts (deposits)
- SEPA Direct Debit Identity Requirements
- Storing SEPA Direct Debit Payments
- SEPA Direct Debit Mandates
- SEPA Mandate Reference
- Cancelling a SEPA Direct Debit Mandate
- SEPA Creditor Identifier (ID)
- SEPA Direct Debit Notification Emails
- Failed SEPA Direct Debit Payments
- Disputed SEPA Direct Debit Payments
- Refunding SEPA Direct Debit Payments
- Disabling SEPA Direct Debit Payments
- Re-enabling SEPA Direct Debit Payments
SEPA Direct Debit
The Single European Payments Area (SEPA) Direct Debit enables Practice Better practitioners across 34 countries to collect payments directly from their clients’ bank accounts in Europe. European customers often prefer SEPA Direct Debit for large or recurring payments.
SEPA Direct Debit was a European Union (EU) initiative designed to streamline payments across Europe by standardizing banking procedures, allowing any EUR-denominated bank account within the SEPA region to be debited directly.
SEPA Direct Debit Processing Fees
| EUR-denominated businesses | |
| Per transaction fee | €0.35 |
| Failed payment fee | €3.50 |
| Dispute fee | €15.00 |
| International transaction fee | NA |
| Currency conversion | 2% |
For Practice Better practitioners located outside the European Union, please visit local payments page from Stripe, choose your country of operation at the bottom of the screen, and then scroll up to review the applicable SEPA Direct Debit fees.
⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTE: At this time, SEPA transactions are limited to practitioners who have a euro-denominated Practice Better Payments account and who issue euro-denominated invoices only.
Timing of SEPA Direct Debit Payouts (deposits)
Standard payouts from SEPA Direct Debit transactions will be deposited into your business bank account 6 business days from the initial transaction date.
Here’s a visual representation of how settlements work for PAD transactions:
| T+0 | T+1 | T+2 | T+3 | T+4 | T+5 | T+6 |
| Payment Initiated |
Settlement (funds available) Payment confirmation |
T = Transaction date
+# = Business days since transaction date
💡 Pro tip: You can view all your payouts from the Payments & Disputes section of your Practice Better Payments Dashboard or through your Stripe dashboard.
SEPA Direct Debit Identity Requirements
To accept SEPA Direct Debit payments, Stripe may require additional information about your business. Check the status of your Practice Better Payments account in the Payments Dashboard and log in to the Stripe Dashboard to ensure all required information has been provided to ensure you can process SEPA Direct Debit transactions successfully.
Storing SEPA Direct Debit Payments
There are three ways to securely store your clients’ SEPA Direct Debit details for future payments:
Method 1: Require billing information at booking:
- Edit Service > Advanced Options > Require billing information when clients book this service/package.
Method 2: Opt to save billing information for future payments on invoices:
- Invoice Editor > Payment Options > Save billing information for future payments.
Method 3: Ask your clients to enter their banking details in the Client Portal.
- Client Portal > Invoices & Billing > Billing Information.
SEPA Direct Debit Mandates
Before you can take payments directly from a client’s bank account using SEPA Direct Debit, you need their permission. This permission is called a mandate, and it explains the terms of the payment.
When you process SEPA payments through Practice Better Payments, your clients will automatically be shown the required mandate during checkout. This appears only the first time they add their bank account. Clients must review and accept the mandate before completing their payment using this method.
Your clients agree to the terms outlined in the SEPA Direct Debit Agreement, which explains their consent and authorization for SEPA Direct Debit payments.
Your clients can cancel their SEPA Direct Debit mandate at any time by contacting either you or their bank. Once a mandate is cancelled, any future debit requests associated with it will no longer be valid. To resume accepting SEPA Direct Debit payments from that client, a new mandate must be established. See Cancelling a SEPA Direct Debit Mandate for step-by-step instructions.
SEPA Mandate Reference
A SEPA mandate reference number is a unique identifier for each direct debit authorization created through Stripe. It combines with a creditor identifier to identify the mandate and is often a sequential number assigned by the business. Stripe generates this number for you.
You can view a client’s mandate ID in your Stripe Dashboard:
- Go to Customers.
- Search for the client’s name.
- Select their bank payment method to view the associated mandate ID.
Cancelling a SEPA Direct Debit Mandate
If your client contacts you to request that you cancel their existing SEPA Direct Debit Mandate, confirm their name and mandate reference number, and then follow these steps:
- Log in to Practice Better.
- Click on your Settings (gear icon) and select Payments Dashboard.
- Click View in Stripe near the top-right.
- In Stripe, go to Customers.
- Search for the client’s name.
- Delete the existing SEPA Direct Debit payment method linked to that client
SEPA Creditor Identifier (ID)
A SEPA Creditor Identifier (Creditor ID) is a unique ID used for SEPA Direct Debit payments to identify the company requesting the payment. This helps your clients recognize who collected the payment on their bank statements. By default, your Practice Better Payments account uses a Stripe Creditor ID when processing SEPA Direct Debit payments.
SEPA Direct Debit Notification Emails
The SEPA Direct Debit rulebook requires that you notify your clients each time you debit their accounts. By default, Stripe automatically sends these emails to your clients on your behalf.
Failed SEPA Direct Debit Payments
SEPA Direct Debit payments can fail up to 6 business days after the payment is initiated for various reasons, including insufficient funds, closed accounts, or missing authorization.
Here is a payment failure timeline:
| T+0 | T+1-2 | T+5 – “Refusal Window” | T+6 |
| Payment Initiated | Payment is submitted to your client’s bank. | The “Refusal window” is the stage where your client’s bank can reject the payment. This is when most failures occur. | After the 5-day refusal window, the payment is considered final, although failure can still occur after this point. |
A SEPA Direct Debit payment can fail for various reasons. For details on failure codes, their explanations, and recommended next steps, please refer to this Stripe article.
[lightbulb] You can monitor failed SEPA Direct Debit payments in the Payments Dashboard.
Disputed SEPA Direct Debit Payments
Clients can dispute a SEPA Direct Debit payment with their bank on a “no questions asked” basis within eight weeks of the debit. Disputes raised during this period are automatically honored.
From eight weeks up to 13 months after the debit, clients may still dispute a payment if it is considered unauthorized. In such cases, Stripe will provide the bank with a copy of the SEPA mandate that the client approved. However, this does not guarantee the dispute will be canceled — the bank ultimately decides whether the debit was unauthorized and whether the client is entitled to a refund.
When a dispute occurs, the disputed amount and a dispute fee will be deducted from your Practice Better Payments account balance.
Unlike credit card payments, SEPA Direct Debit disputes can't be appealed through Stripe. To resolve the issue, you’ll need to contact your client directly.
After a dispute, check the status of the client’s SEPA Direct Debit mandate to confirm it has been cancelled. If the client wishes to continue working with you and paying by SEPA Direct Debit, you’ll need to collect a new mandate. See Cancelling a SEPA Direct Debit Mandate for detailed instructions.
Refunding SEPA Direct Debit Payments
You can issue full or partial refunds for SEPA Direct Debit payments within 180 days of the original payment date.
Key details:
- Refunds are free of charge, but processing fees from the original payment are non-refundable.
- Refunds typically take 3–4 business days to process, and funds usually reach your client’s account within 5 business days.
- SEPA refunds appear as credits in your client’s bank account, showing the original payment’s statement descriptor rather than being labelled explicitly as a refund.
Important considerations:
- Clients can still dispute a payment through their bank even after you’ve issued a refund. Because of SEPA’s longer processing times, this may occasionally result in two credits for the same payment (one from your refund and one from the bank’s dispute process).
- To reduce the risk of confusion or duplicate credits, only issue a refund when:
- The customer is trusted and verified
- You’ve confirmed with the customer that you’re processing the refund
- At least 7 business days have passed since the original payment
Disabling SEPA Direct Debit Payments
If you do not wish to accept SEPA Direct Debit transactions, you can disable this payment method by following these instructions:
- Log in to Practice Better.
- Click on your Settings (gear icon) and select Payments Dashboard.
- Click View in Stripe near the top-right.
- After successfully logging in to Stripe, click the Settings (gear icon).
- Select Payments from your Settings page.
- Go to the Payment methods tab.
- Locate the payment method (ie. Bank debit) in your list and click on it to expand the payment method panel.
- Click Turn off on the payment method you no longer want to accept.
Re-enabling SEPA Direct Debit Payments
If you have disabled SEPA Direct Debit Payments and need to re-enable this, follow steps 1-7 above, and click the button to Turn on your desired payment method.