Manage SEPA Direct Debit mandates
This guide helps partner support teams answer user questions about SEPA Direct Debit mandates. It covers checking mandate details in the Dashboard, troubleshooting rejected payments, and knowing when to raise a Swan Support request.
For full product documentation, see the SEPA Direct Debit overview and add a payment mandate guides.
For user-facing explanations, share SEPA Direct Debit mandates and Direct debit overview.
- Mandates are stored at the account level. Each one represents a creditor that can take money from the account.
- Use the Dashboard to check mandate statuses, review creditor and debtor details, and find mandate IDs for Swan Support requests.
- Most mandate actions (updating, suspending) aren't available in the Dashboard. They require an API integration in your product, or a Swan Support request.
- Swan checks mandate statuses and available balances at 6 AM (CET/CEST) on the day the payment is due.
- The most common cause of rejected direct debits is incomplete B2B consents.
- Refund rights differ by scheme: SDD Core allows refunds up to 8 calendar weeks; SDD B2B has no right to refund.
- For B2B mandates, direct your user to register and consent through your product or the Dashboard. Core mandates require no action from you or your user.
Understand direct debit mandates
When a company (creditor) needs to take money from your user's account (for subscriptions, rent, utilities, or other recurring payments), they use a direct debit. Your user (debtor) authorizes this by signing a mandate. For B2B mandates, the user must also register the mandate and consent to it before it can be used.
Here are the key terms you'll see in the Dashboard and on mandate documents:
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Mandate | Allows a creditor to take money from the account |
| Creditor | The company collecting the money |
| Debtor | The account holder (your user) being debited, either an individual or business |
| SCI / ICS | The creditor's unique identifier (SEPA Creditor Identifier / Identifiant Créancier SEPA). You'll need this when raising a Swan Support request |
| UMR / RUM | The Unique Mandate Reference that identifies this specific mandate. You'll need this when raising a Swan Support request |
Some payment aggregators use their own SCI / ICS for smaller merchants. This doesn't change what you should ask the user to check: creditor name, SCI / ICS, UMR / RUM, debtor IBAN, and mandate scheme.
Differences between Core and B2B mandates
Swan supports two SDD schemes. The key difference is how they're set up:
| Scheme | Who can use it | How it's created | Refund rights | Can be suspended? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core | Individuals and businesses | Automatically. Swan creates it when the first direct debit instruction arrives. No registration needed. | Yes, up to 8 calendar weeks (no questions asked) or 13 months (unauthorized). | Yes |
| B2B | Businesses only | Manually. The user must sign, register, and consent to the mandate before use. | None | Yes |
How to tell them apart: If a mandate document doesn't mention B2B or business-to-business, it's a Core mandate. No action needed. The details appear in the Dashboard once the creditor sends the first direct debit.
If your user sends you a Core mandate document, let them know no action is needed. They don't need to send it to Swan.
What the mandate statuses mean
A mandate must have the status Enabled in the Dashboard to work. Any other status means the next direct debit will fail.
| Status in the Dashboard | What's going on | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Enabled | The mandate is active. | If a direct debit still failed, check the account balance, that the account status is Enabled, or whether the creditor details match. |
ConsentInitiationPending or ConsentPending | The user hasn't finished setting up or consenting to the B2B mandate yet. | Ask them to complete the approval before the payment due date. If stuck, walk them through it in your product or raise a Swan Support request. |
Suspended | The mandate is temporarily blocked. No debits can go through. | Check with the user: do they want to keep it blocked or resume it? To resume it, your user can do this from your product if your integration supports it. Otherwise, raise a Swan Support request. |
Canceled | The mandate has been permanently canceled. | Future debits from this creditor are rejected. The user may need a new mandate or updated instructions from the creditor. Canceling a mandate is only possible through a Swan Support request. |
For B2B mandates, the status Enabled only appears after the user has approved the mandate.
Handle common direct debit queries
Use this table to quickly route issues.
| What the user is asking | What's happening | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| A payment was rejected. | Mandate not consented, insufficient funds, account closed, or details don't match. | Troubleshoot rejected direct debits |
| I need to register a new mandate. | They received B2B mandate details from a creditor. | Register a new B2B mandate |
| A mandate was updated and isn't working. | Consent cycle was reset after an update. | Update a B2B received mandate |
| I want to stop a direct debit. | They want to pause or permanently stop future debits. | Stop or cancel a direct debit |
| I want a refund. | They were debited and want the money back. | Understand refund rights |
| They sent you a Core mandate document. | Core mandates are created automatically. | No action needed. |
Look up a mandate in the Dashboard
When a query comes in, start by looking up the mandate.
- Go to Dashboard > Data > Accounts.
- Select the account and open the Received Direct Debit Mandates tab.
- Review mandate details: creditor name, SCI / ICS, UMR / RUM, debtor IBAN, sequence type, status, signature date, and last execution date.
From here, you can figure out whether the user needs to approve the mandate, contact the creditor, add funds, or whether you need to raise a Swan Support request.
Register a new B2B mandate
Your user should register B2B mandates through your product or the Dashboard whenever possible. The person completing it must be authorized to manage payments on the account, usually the legal representative.
To send a B2B mandate registration link from your Dashboard or add a mandate with the API, see the guide to add a received direct debit mandate. The guide includes Dashboard steps with screenshots as well as the full API mutation.
Register the mandate on your user's behalf
- Ask if they can access the registration link in your product or Dashboard.
- If yes, point them to it and ask them to complete the registration.
- If they can't access or complete it, raise a Swan Support request with the required mandate information.
Registering a B2B mandate is similar to authorizing a payment; the legal representative or someone with payment permissions must complete it.
Update a B2B received mandate
You can only update a B2B received mandate through the API; it's not available in the Dashboard. If your development team has integrated the update mandate feature, your user can update the mandate from your product. The update requires a user access token from an account member with the canInitiatePayments permission.
If your integration doesn't support this yet, raise a Swan Support request with the mandate ID and the details that need changing.
Any update triggers a new consent cycle. The mandate can't be used until your user consents to the updated details. Once the user consents, the mandate status returns to Enabled. Warn the user if a payment is due soon; if they don't approve in time, the next direct debit will fail.
Stop or cancel a direct debit
Suspending a mandate isn't available in the Dashboard. It requires an API integration in your product.
There isn't a public API action to permanently cancel a mandate. The Canceled status exists, but partners can't set it directly. A mandate can become Canceled through Swan-side processes, such as automatic cancellation of OneOff mandates after they're used. Suspending a mandate is effectively permanent unless someone re-enables it.
| Action | What it does | Reversible? | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspend | Blocks future debits. Any pending instructions are rejected. | Yes. It can be re-enabled. | User wants to stop debits from a creditor. |
What to do
- Confirm your user wants to stop debits from the creditor.
- If your development team has integrated the suspend mandate feature, direct your user to suspend the mandate from your product. To resume debits later, they can re-enable the mandate.
- If your integration doesn't support this yet, raise a Swan Support request with the mandate ID.
Understand when payments are executed
Swan checks all pending direct debit instructions at 6 AM (CET/CEST) on the day the payment is due, following the full execution logic. At that point, Swan checks that:
- The statuses of the mandate, the account, and the debtor's IBAN are all
Enabled. - The account's
Availablebalance is sufficient.
If both checks pass, Swan executes the payment and the transaction status updates to Booked. If either check fails, Swan rejects the payment.
If your user consents to a mandate after 6 AM (CET/CEST) on the due date, Swan won't process it until the next scheduled payment. Let your users know about this timing so they understand why their consent might still show as pending.
Troubleshoot rejected direct debits
| Cause | How to check | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| B2B mandate not approved/consented | Mandate status isn't Enabled (shows ConsentInitiationPending or ConsentPending). | Initiate consent or remind your user to complete it. You can resend the consent request if needed. |
| Insufficient available balance | Check the Available balance (not Booked) before 6 AM (CET/CEST). | Your user must add funds before the next execution date. |
| Account closed or closing | Check account status in the Dashboard. | Your user needs to open a new account. All payment mandates for incoming SEPA Direct Debits are canceled, and attempted incoming direct debits are rejected. |
| Invalid mandate information | Creditor's details, SEPA Creditor Identifier (SCI), Unique Mandate Reference (UMR), or debtor IBAN don't match the registered mandate. | Contact the creditor to verify details. For B2B, the mandate may need to be updated and approved again. |
| Core mandate not visible yet | The creditor hasn't sent the first direct debit instruction yet. | Let the user know there's nothing to do. The mandate appears automatically when the first direct debit arrives. |
Understand refund rights
Your user's refund rights depend on their mandate scheme. For full details, including timelines for returns and creditor reversals, see the SEPA Direct Debit specifications.
Quick reference for your support conversations
- Core mandates
- Your user can request a refund up to 8 calendar weeks after execution, no questions asked.
- They can request a refund up to 13 months after execution, but only if there wasn't a valid mandate or the payment wasn't authorized.
- For a refund after 8 weeks, collect the user's evidence and raise a Swan Support request.
- No partial refunds: the refund is for the full original transaction amount.
- B2B mandates
- No refund rights. Under the SEPA B2B rulebook, debtors have no right to a refund for an authorized transaction. Because the debtor's bank is required to verify the mandate before every payment is executed, the SEPA B2B rulebook treats each transaction as fully authorized and final.
- If your user asks, explain that they agreed to this when they signed and approved the mandate. If they believe the direct debit was unauthorized, they'll need to contact the creditor directly.
Request a Core direct debit refund
Step 1: Confirm the refund is eligible
- Check that the transaction is a SEPA Core / B2C Direct Debit
- Confirm the transaction status is
Booked - Check that the transaction is a SEPA Core / B2C Direct Debit.
- Confirm the transaction status is
Booked. - Verify no partial refunds are requested (refunds must be for the full original amount).
Step 2: Identify the refund window
- Within 8 weeks of the direct debit: Your user can request a refund without justification (Core SDD refund requested by debtor).
- After 8 weeks and up to 13 months: Only possible if the transaction is unauthorized or there's no valid mandate (Reason: MD01 — No Authorization). The request requires additional checks and evidence. The receiving/creditor bank may accept or reject the claim.
- After 13 months: No longer eligible under the Core SDD refund framework.
Step 3: Collect refund evidence (for requests between 8 weeks and 13 months)
Before raising a Swan Support request, collect:
- Why the user is requesting the refund late
- Why the user considers the transaction unauthorized
- Whether the user approved or signed the mandate
- Any available mandate evidence
- Proof that the user contacted the creditor
- Proof that the creditor refused the refund, if available
If the user hasn't contacted the creditor, ask them to try resolving it directly with the creditor first. Swan will ask for this evidence.
Step 4: Raise a Swan Support request
Submit a request via the Partner support request form including all details from the Contact Swan Support section.
Contact Swan Support
Raise a request using the Partner support request form.
Before submitting a request, collect the relevant information from the Dashboard (Dashboard > Data > Accounts > select the account > Received Direct Debit Mandates).
Contact Swan Support if:
- A direct debit was rejected and the mandate, account status, and balance all look correct.
- A B2B mandate should be
Enabledbut is stuck in a pending status. - The user can't complete the B2B mandate registration link.
- A mandate needs to be suspended or resumed and your integration doesn't support it yet.
- You need help investigating a rejection that doesn't match the causes in this guide.
- A user is requesting a Core direct debit refund.
Always include
- Account ID
- Mandate ID
- Mandate scheme: Core or B2B
- Mandate status
- Creditor name
- SEPA Creditor Identifier (SCI / ICS)
- Unique Mandate Reference (UMR / RUM)
- Debtor IBAN
- Expected vs. actual behavior
- Any API error messages from your development team
- Supporting files or screenshots, if relevant
For B2B mandate requests, also include
- Debtor's full name
- Mandate sequence type: recurrent or one-off
- Signature date
- Mandate language
- Mandate document, if available
- Confirmation that the request came from someone authorized to manage payments on the account (usually the legal representative)
For refund requests, also include
- Original transaction ID / Payment ID
- Transaction end-to-end ID, if available
- Direct debit / booking date
- Amount and currency
- Transaction label
- Confirmation that the transaction is Core / B2C, not B2B
- Confirmation that the transaction is
Booked - Confirmation that no refund has already been received or initiated
- For within-8-week refunds: indicate Core SDD refund requested by debtor
- For after-8-week refunds: specify reason as MD01 — No Authorization and include all refund evidence
Share these articles with your users
When your users have questions about direct debit mandates, share these support articles directly:
- SEPA Direct Debit mandates: explains mandates from the account holder's perspective
- Direct debit overview: explains how direct debits work for account holders
You can also use these articles as a starting point to create your own help center content, tailored to your product's terminology and your users' specific context.