If you would like to make sure to be paid on time by your clients, you can automate payment collection with direct debit collection. To use this feature, you must first meet our eligibility criteria.
What are the main eligibility criteria?
We assess your eligibility with these criteria:
- Your company must be fully operational and not in the process of closing.
- 2-step authentication must be activated on your Qonto account.
- Nonprofit, gaming/gambling, financial services, crypto-related, travel, marketplaces and delayed services & goods organizations are not eligible.
- Your account has never been debtor.
- You have never received a seizure on your account following a debt contracted with a company, an individual or the financial authorities in your country.
☝️ Good to know: internal eligibility criteria are added to this list and are also taken into account.
⚠️ Also, the refund rate has to be lower than 20%. The refund rate is the percentage of direct debits that were refunded, at your client’s request, since you started using the feature. This percentage refers to the direct debits refunded.
How to know if I am eligible?
If you are the Owner or an Admin on the account, go to the Business Account section and click on Incoming direct debits. If the button Start setting up displays on the screen, it means that you are eligible for direct debit collection.
✅ Once you're eligible, you can proceed to the next step: setting up your SCI.
Setting up your SCI (SEPA Creditor Identifier)
Once you are eligible, you will need to set up an SCI during the onboarding flow. This is a unique reference that identifies you as a creditor authorized to collect SEPA direct debit payments.
Do I already have an SCI?
If you're unsure whether you already have an SCI, here's where you can find it:
- Check with your current or previous bank: If you've used direct debit collection before, your SCI would have been provided by your bank. Look for it in your banking documentation or contact your bank directly.
- Review your direct debit mandates: Your SCI appears on any SEPA direct debit mandates you may have issued to clients in the past.
⚠️ Important: If you currently use a third-party payment service provider to collect direct debits, you may be using their SCI rather than your own. In this case, you would need to request your own SCI to use direct debit collection with Qonto.
How to get an SCI
If you don't have an SCI yet, the process depends on your country:
-
German-based companies:
You will need to request it by yourself. You can find more information about the German "Gläubiger-ID" on the Deutsche Bundesbank website and request your SCI there. -
French-based companies:
You can add your existing SCI or request a new one through Qonto. In this case, Qonto will request it from the Banque of France, which charges €36,90 VAT excluded. This will take up to 2 business days. -
Spanish and Italian-based companies:
We create your SCI automatically within the flow and you can start using the feature straight away.
✅ Ready to start collecting? Once your SCI is set up, visit How to collect money from my clients? to learn how to start collecting payments from your clients.
Can the eligibility change with time?
Yes, we assess your direct debit collection on a monthly basis. In that sense, your eligibility may evolve.
A potentially non-eligible organization may become eligible, and vice versa. Qonto reserves the right to revoke your access to direct debit collection, in accordance with your contract terms. The loss of eligibility could also mean in some cases the automatic cancellation of upcoming transactions. The connection of external accounts with the account aggregation feature can also affect your eligibility.
We invite you to check your eligibility status at the beginning of every month.
💡 Need to automate the payment collection of a recurring invoice? Learn how to set up a direct debit for your recurring invoices.