2016-04-05
The Bank of Lithuania’s retail payment system SEPA-MMS has offered a new service — SEPA direct debit. Payment service providers using this system can provide the SEPA direct debit service meeting the requirements of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). The new service of the system is reachable on a European scale, i.e. payments in this format via the Bank of Lithuania’s system will reach all payment service providers operating in the SEPA area (all EU countries, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, the Principality of Monaco, Switzerland and San Marino) and their customers.
A retail payment system managed by the Bank of Lithuania — SEPA-MMS — started operating on 8 December last year. Banks and other payment service providers participating in the system have been provided conditions for carrying out mutual real-time credit transfers complying with SEPA requirements (on business days from 8:00 to 18:00). Payments by other payment service providers operating in Lithuania and in the SEPA area are routed 5 times per day, taking into account the business schedules of foreign systems.
The Bank of Lithuania, implementing its commitment to improve the SEPA-MMS system, adapted it for the provision of the SEPA core direct debit service as of 5 April. With the start of its provision, payment service providers were given two options: to receive SEPA direct debit payment orders designated for their customers or to provide such payment orders to all SEPA direct debit service providers, reachable in the SEPA area, as well.
‘SEPA direct debit is a substitute for direct debit, which was applied in Lithuania but was not in line with SEPA standards, and a perfect alternative for the currently used electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) service. This payment instrument is characterised by such an advantage as reachability in all of the SEPA area, while the e-invoicing service is only reachable on a country scale,’ says Martynas Rajunčius, Head of the Payment Systems Administration Division at the Bank of Lithuania.