Home > News

News

UniCredit Bank is first in Czech Republic to offer SEPA Direct Debit!

Since November, UniCredit Bank is the first and so far the only bank in the Czech Republic to provide its clients with the brand new payment instrument - SEPA Direct Debit. Until now, it has not been possible to use direct debits in euro, even outside the Czech Republic. UniCredit Bank now enables its clients to pay by direct debit from a single euro-denominated account in 32 European countries, and thus it continues living up to its corporate image as a truly European bank.

Using a SEPA Direct Debit, it is now possible, for example, to pay rent and energy bills in Italy, make a mortgage payment in Switzerland, settle a telephone bill in Germany or a magazine subscription, for example, in Austria and England. Convenience for clients is significantly increased, as they no longer need to have accounts in a given country for executing these regular direct debits. Other advantages include designating in advance the due date upon which the funds will be debited and the possibility to send a brief message for the payer with the direct debit request.

SEPA Direct Debit is also appealing for corporate clients. "A particularly great advantage is the standardisation. Firmly established processing cycles allow companies to precisely plan their cash flow, and the newly transferred data enables simple, automated identification of transactions," specifies Daniel Čermák, manager of the Cash Management & eBanking Unit.

The direct debit system comprises of two parts. While the active part enables sending direct debit requests, the passive part provides for payment on the basis of an incoming direct debit request. "Launch of the passive part of the SEPA debit is a significant milestone in implementing this project within UniCredit Bank. We have already begun with preparing the active part, which we are planning to launch during the next year," stated Jaroslava Gregová, leader of the SEPA Direct Debit Project Team.

The SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) project is an initiative of European banks supported by the European Central Bank (ECB). Its main goal is to create an integrated payments area ensuring that cross-border payments will be as efficient and easy to execute as are domestic payments. SEPA encompasses the SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Direct Debit and SEPA Cards Framework within countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area, as well as Switzerland and Monaco.

Archive