Direct debit (tiešais debets)

A direct debit is a payment service in which money is taken from the payer's account at the payee's initiative, on the basis of consent the payer gave in advance, known as a mandate.

Direct debits suit recurring payments: the payee submits the collection, so the payer does not have to make each payment. The mandate is the payer's authorisation for the payee to collect and for the payer's bank to carry out those instructions.

Where the payment was a SEPA direct debit in euro, the payer has a right to a refund: it can be requested within eight weeks of the date the money was debited, and within ten business days the bank either refunds it or explains the refusal. Where the payer is not a consumer, bank and customer may agree different terms.