What is SEPA?

SEPA is the abbreviation standing for Single Euro Payments Area, which means a single area for
payments in the Euro currency.

What is the benefit and purpose of SEPA?

SEPA eliminates differences between domestic and cross-border payments nominated in the Euro
currency within the European Union and the European Economic Area. Individuals, entrepreneurs,
companies, trades-people as well as public sector may carry out payments and direct debits in the Euro
currency within this area within the same time and for the same price as domestic payments.

Which countries are included in SEPA?

Where can you find the list of banks SEPA participants?

The up-to-date list (register) of SEPA participants is disclosed on the pages of the European Payments
Council (EPC):
http://epc.cbnet.info/content/adherence_database

Where can you find the SEPA conditions and rules?

The SEPA conditions and rules are set out in:
Directive of the European Parliament and Council 2007/64/EC on payment services in the
internal market (Payment Services Directive PSD), which in the SR has been incorporated in
the Act No. 492/09 on payment services (effective since December 1st, 2009),
Regulation of the European Parliament and Council 924/2009 on cross-border payments in the
Community,
Regulation of the European Parliament and Council 260/2012 establishing technical and
business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in Euro.
Technical documentation for the SEPA payment instruments can be found on the web pages of the
European Payments Council (EPC):
http://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/

When and how the SEPA system will be implemented for domestic payments
within the SR?
For domestic payments within the SR, SEPA will be implemented from February 1st, 2014. Domestic
payments and direct debits will gradually be replaced by the SEPA payment instruments SEPA credit
transfers and SEPA direct debits.
All valid Direct Debit Approvals established before this date will be automatically transformed into SEPA
Direct Debit Approvals by the banks. It is not necessary for the direct debit payers to visit the Bank or enter
changes via electronic banking.
The transition period runs from February 1st, 2014 to January 31st, 2016 when the clients will be able to
enter the billing data in their current form or enter the payments in the new SEPA formats.

What are the SEPA payment instruments like?

The following instruments have been created for carrying out SEPA payments:

SEPA Credit Transfer = SEPA CREDIT TRANSFER (SCT),

SEPA Direct Debit = SEPA DIRECT DEBIT (SDD).

SEPA CREDIT TRANSFERS

What is a SEPA Credit Transfer?
SEPA Credit Transfer means cash-less payment where the instruction to the bank is presented by the
payer, and:
The payment currency:
EUR
The payers as well as beneficiarys bank:
EEA (+ Switzerland, Monaco)
The payers and beneficiarys account number:
IBAN
The payers and beneficiarys bank code within the SR BIC (optional within the SR)
Fee instruction
SHA
Order format
ISO 20022 XML
The fees for the EEA countries (-CH, Monaco) are identical as within the SR.
The value date is D+1(D+2 for paper orders to SEPA countries other than the SR)

What are the SEPA payment details and what do they mean?
IBAN is an International Bank Account Number, containing max. 34 alphanumeric characters. Every
countrys IBAN has its individual number of characters; IBAN in the SR has 24 characters.
Example:

BIC is the banks Swift code (Bank Identifier Code), containing 8 or 11, alphanumeric characters.
Example:

End to End Reference shall uniquely identify the payment and must be delivered to the beneficiary
unchanged.
Up to now, the payments have been identified by symbols (variable, specific and constant).
Within the gradual transfer to the SEPA standard, the banks in the SR decided to retain utilization of the
symbols, transferred to the End to End Reference field according to the rules agreed (The SK Convention).
Example of the Reference containing all of the symbols:
/VS1234567890/SS1234567890/KS1234
Example of the Reference if the SS and KS have not been provided:
/VS1234567890/SS/KS
Remittance Information is additional payment information delivered by the bank to the beneficiary.

How do you make payments within the SR from February 1st, 2014?
Until January 31st, 2014 a SEPA payment may only be posted as a cross-border payment. From February
1st, 2014, even the domestic payments will turn into SEPA payments.
During the transition period from February 1st, 2014 to January 31st, 2016, for payments within the
SR, it is possible to enter account numbers in the IBAN form or in the current basic form (BBAN). From
February 1st, 2016, entering the account number in the IBAN form will start to be mandatory.
When using the account number in the basic form (BBAN), it is also necessary to enter the 4-digit bank
code, as currently. If the domestic payment account number is entered in the IBAN form, the bank code
shall be used in the BIC form.
The payment may be identified through the End to End Reference or in the current form, as symbols (VS,
SS and KS).

Note: when sending payments to other SEPA countries (outside the SR), it is mandatory to enter the
account number in the IBAN form and to provide the BIC code. Only the End to End Reference may be
used for the payment identification.

What forms of payment orders may be used from February 1st, 2014?
Regarding the paper forms, the following may be used during the transition period:
New forms for SEPA payments (SEPA credit transfer, SEPA bulk transfer).
Note: in these forms, the account numbers must be entered in the IBAN / BIC form, for payment
identification, the End to End Reference or the VS, SS, KS symbols may be chosen.

The currently valid bank forms or forms prepared by the client and approved by the bank.
In these forms, the payment details shall be entered as usual (account numbers in basic form BBAN/Bank code, identification data in the form of VS, SS, KS).

Note: in bulk payment orders, all the payments must be in the same form (either the current or the SEPA
form) it is not permitted to combine the payment forms.
Regarding the electronic banking payments, during the transition period, the payment orders may be
entered or data files may be sent in the SEPA form as well as in the current form.

Comparison of SEPA payment and current domestic payment

SEPA DIRECT DEBIT

What is a SEPA Direct Debit?
SEPA Direct Debit means cashless payment where the beneficiary collects funds from the payers
account, whereas the payer and beneficiary have agreed upon this in advance and the payer has signed
the so called mandate for the beneficiary.
Further conditions:
The payment currency:
The payers as well as beneficiarys bank:
Order form:

EUR
EEA (+ Switzerland, Monaco)
ISO 20022 XML
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The fees for the direct debits to and from the EEA countries are identical as for the direct debits within
the SR.
The direct debit settlement on the payer as well as beneficiary part is on the same day, which is the
maturity day D. Note: in case of deficit of funds on the payers account, the attempt to settle the SEPA
direct debit shall not be repeated.
Consumer SEPA Direct Debit (CORE scheme) shall be used by companies to debit recurring payments
for services provided, especially from Consumers. Business SEPA Direct Debit (B2B scheme) shall be
used to collect payments among business partners (entrepreneurs, companies), when paying their
business commitments.

Which new data are important for paying via SEPA Direct Debit and what do
they mean?
CID (Creditor Identifier) is a unique identifier of the beneficiary (Creditor). The beneficiary shall ask for the
CID assignment through its relationship manager in the bank. The CID is assigned by the administrator of
the SEPA Direct Debit Creditors in the creditors country of residence; which is the NBS in the SR. It is not
possible to carry out direct debit without an assigned CID.
Mandate is the consent with performance of SEPA Direct Debit, granted by the payer to the payment
creditor through signature. On the basis of the mandate, the creditor is entitled to send the payment
order for SEPA Direct Debit to the payers bank. The mandate must contain the UMR, payers IBAN/BIC,
payers name and address, CID, beneficiarys name and address, type of direct debit (one-off/recurring),
scheme type (CORE/B2B), date of signature of the mandate, signatures.
UMR (Unique Mandate Reference) is the mandate reference, i.e. the unique identification (number, text,
...), which serves to uniquely identify the direct debit relation. UMR shall be provided by the creditor to the
payer at the mandate signature.

SEPA Direct Debit from the payers point of view:

Which conditions must be met by the payer to be able to pay via SEPA Direct
Debit?
In order to be able to pay via SEPA Direct Debit, the payer must meet the following conditions:
Having an account open with a bank in the Euro currency,
Having agreed with the creditor upon payment by direct debit in advance and having signed the
mandate,
Having established the SEPA Direct Debit Approval in the bank.

How can the payer protect his/her account against SEPA Direct Debit?
The bank enables to set 3 levels of the payers account protection in relation to SEPA Direct Debit:

If the payer has no SEPA Direct Debit Approval established for his/her account, in relation to SEPA
Direct Debit, the account is closed.
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If the payer establishes the SEPA Direct Debit Approval for a specific creditor, his/her
account is conditionally open in relation to SEPA Direct Debit; i.e. the payer authorizes to make
SEPA Direct Debit from his/her account only for a specific beneficiary designated by him/her (to
the credit of any account of such beneficiary). Several SEPA Direct Debit Approvals for a specific
creditor may be established for a single account.

If the payer establishes SEPA Direct Debit Approval for any creditor, his/her account is open
for any Consumer SEPA Direct Debit. Only a single SEPA Direct Debit Approval for any creditor
may be established for a single account.

Starting from February 2014, payers may establish the SEPA Direct Debits at any branch as well as via
electronic banking. When establishing the Direct Debit Approval, it is necessary to have the payers
mandate given to the beneficiary available.

When may the payer request rejection/return of the SEPA Direct Debit?
Payer may ask for rejection (non-performance) of a single direct debit payment, waiting for settlement
max. 10 and min. 1 bank business day before the direct debit maturity date. Any following direct
debits shall be performed in compliance with the SEPA Direct Debit Approval. After the SEPA Direct Debit
settlement, the request for rejection thereof is invalid.
Payer may ask for return of funds debited from the account via SEPA Direct Debit:

Max. 8 weeks from the date of authorized settlement of the SEPA Direct Debit only applies
to the SEPA Direct Debit CORE scheme (Consumer),
Maximum 13 months from the date of incorrect/unauthorized settlement of the SEPA
Direct Debit applies to the SEPA Direct Debit CORE and B2B schemes.

Payer may ask for rejection / return of the SEPA Direct Debit at any branch and starting from February
2014 even via electronic banking.

SEPA Direct Debit from the beneficiarys point of view:

Which conditions must be met by the beneficiary to be able to send SEPA Direct
Debit orders?
In order to be able to send SEPA Direct Debit orders, the beneficiary must meet the following conditions:

Having an account open with a bank in the Euro currency,

Having the CID assigned,
Having agreed with the bank upon sending of SEPA Direct Debit orders in advance with the bank
enabling the SEPA Direct Debit in the electronic banking application,
Having agreed with the payers upon payment by direct debit in advance and signed mandates
with them.

The SEPA Direct Debit orders may be delivered to the bank only via electronic banking.

Direct Debit process within SEPA:

Payer
1. After entering the agreement on the provision of service / product with the beneficiary, shall sign
the mandate for the beneficiary regarding the SEPA Direct Debit performance.
2. Establishes the SEPA Direct Debit Approval for his/her account in the bank.

Beneficiary
3. At the latest 14 days before the direct debit settlement (unless agreed otherwise), the beneficiary
shall send a notice of the direct debit amount and settlement date to the payer.
4. Several days before maturity (depending on the direct debit type), the beneficiary shall send the
SEPA Direct Debit Order to the payers bank through his/her bank.

Banks
5. If the payer entered a SEPA Direct Debit Approval, has sufficient funds on the account and did not
revoke the debit before maturity, the banks shall carry out the direct debit settlement on the
maturity date; the payers bank shall debit the amount from the payers account and the
beneficiarys bank shall credit the amount to the beneficiarys account. On the maturity date, also
settlement between the banks shall be carried out, through the settlement centre.

How will the domestic direct debits be carried out from February 1st, 2014?
Timetable for termination of the current domestic direct debits processing:

January 29th, 2014, until 8:00 AM. - max. maturity date and time when the bank shall take over the
clients direct debit calls;

January 30th, 2014 the bank will send the last direct debit calls for clearing; payer will have the
direct debit settled from account, the bank will no longer repeat the settlement attempts 3x; the
bank shall refuse the non-performed direct debit calls;

January 31st, 2014 the bank will settle all incoming direct debits.

During the transition period - from February 1st, 2014 to January 31st, 2016, beneficiaries will be able
to enter direct debit orders in the SEPA form, and also in the currently valid form, if agreed with the bank
in advance. The bank shall take over direct debit orders from beneficiaries only in electronic form, via
electronic banking application. From February 1st, 2016, the SEPA form for direct debit orders will be
mandatory.

What will happen with the Direct Debit Approvals established before January
31st, 2014?
Any Direct Debit Approvals established until January 31st, 2014 (included), will be automatically
converted by the bank to SEPA Direct Debit Approvals for a specific creditor the CORE scheme.
Should the payer require SEPA Direct Debit Approval for the B2B scheme, he/she will have to cancel the
converted SEPA Direct Debit Approval and a new SEPA Direct Debit Approval for the B2B scheme will have
to be established.

Any client accounts, for which no direct debit approval will have been established until January 31st,
2014, will be set in relation to the SEPA Direct Debit as closed.

Comparison of the SEPA Direct Debit with the current domestic direct debit

Comparison of the SEPA Direct Debit CORE scheme and B2B scheme

Where can you find more information about transaction formats and
statements in relation to processing of SEPA credit transfers and SEPA direct
debits via electronic banking?
For more information about processing of SEPA credit transfers and SEPA direct debits via electronic
banking, see the section Corporate Clients:
http://www.unicreditbank.sk/en/Corporate-clients