Import SEPA Data

Stripe migrates all SEPA payment data as payment methods. This guide provides instructions for migrating your existing SEPA mandates from your previous payment processors into Stripe.

Importing the mandates

In the context of SEPA, mandates refer to the original authorised agreement that the customer and the business have already established.

In Stripe, creating a new mandate object doesn’t mean creating a new mandate from scratch. On import, we create a new mandate object that:

• Uses the same mandate_reference as your original agreement.
• Represents the same agreement the customer initially authorised for the first direct debit instruction.

No new information is required from the customer. The original agreement stays the same.

Creditor ID

A SEPA Creditor Identifier (Creditor ID) is an ID associated with each SEPA Direct Debit payment that identifies the company requesting the payment. Although companies might have multiple creditor identifiers, each creditor identifier is unique and allows your customers to identify the debits on their account.

By default, your Stripe account uses a Stripe Creditor ID when collecting SEPA Direct Debit Payments. Stripe Payments appears on bank statements alongside your configurable Stripe statement descriptor. We recommend that you:

• Configure a recognisable statement descriptor to make sure customers recognise payments and to reduce the risk of disputes.
• Use your own Creditor ID to reduce dispute rates and improve your customer’s recognition of their payment to you.
• If you’re using the Stripe Creditor ID, use Stripe Checkout to collect mandates from your customers for SEPA Direct Debits.

You can configure your own Creditor ID in the Payment Method Settings page. When using your own Creditor ID, your name appears on statements instead of Stripe’s.

Example SEPA Bank Mandate if using Stripe’s Creditor ID

From Account
Account name: CURRENT-ACCOUNT
BIC: BANBICKIEXXXXX
IBAN: IE11BANK11111111111111

Originator Details
Originator name: Stripe Payments Europe Ltd
Creditor Identifier: BE111111111111
The Creditor Identifier is a unique identifier used by
the company to process collections.

UMR: UMR123 PSP
The Unique Mandate Reference (UMR) is specific to the
mandate you have signed and identifies each direct
debit mandate.

Additional details
Status: Active

Example SEPA Bank Mandate if using your own Creditor ID

From Account
Account name: CURRENT-ACCOUNT
BIC: BANBICKIEXXXXX
IBAN: IE11BANK11111111111111

Originator Details
Originator name: Merchant Creditor ID Name
Creditor Identifier: BE222222222222
The Creditor Identifier is a unique identifier used by
the company to process collections.

UMR: UMR123 PSP
The Unique Mandate Reference (UMR) is specific to the
mandate you have signed and identifies each direct
debit mandate.

Additional details
Status: Active

Migration notification

Inform your customers about the migration before it happens. They don’t need to give permission again or set up a new SEPA Direct Debit mandate. The approval you already have is sufficient.

General guidelines for communication:

Point out any changes such as:

• Creditor ID if you choose Stripe’s Creditor ID
• Creditor name if you choose Stripe’s Creditor ID
• Recipient bank IBAN

Make sure the communication reassures customers their current mandates are valid without requiring any action from them, unless they choose to cancel the mandate.

SEPA debit notification

SEPA rules state that you must notify your customers when debiting their SEPA payment method.

By default, Stripe automatically sends these email notifications on your behalf.

SEPA file guidance

• A processor can provide a number of different fields.
• We advise your processor to provide a full export of all customer and payment method data to Stripe.
• Stripe can filter out any unnecessary fields from the previous processor’s data as needed.
• Stripe can merge multiple received files if either the old customer ID or the old source ID is present in both files.

File formatting requirements

Export data files must meet the following data standards for us to proceed with an import:

• The file must be in CSV format.
• The file must be UTF-8 encoded.
• Delimit rows by a single newline character \n (not \r\n).
• Delimit columns by a comma (,).
• You must wrap all fields containing commas in double quotes ("). We recommend wrapping all fields in double quotes.
• Leave empty fields entirely empty (no character in between delimiters). You must not denote a missing field with NULL, N/A, or any other value.
• Escape any double quotes that are part of the content with another double quote per the CSV RFC. Example: "``William ""``Bard of Avon``"" Shakespeare``"
• Fields can’t contain newline characters (\r or \n) within a field. An example of what to avoid would be: 101 1st Ave\nApt 1.
• All rows must have the same number of columns.
• Columns support any order.
• You must encrypt sensitive data files with our PGP key before submitting them through SFTP.

SEPA data fields