CMS Italy Newsletter | 30 Oct 2013

Starting from 1 February 2014, the Italian credit transfer and direct debit payment (RID) systems will be replaced by the SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) payment systems, the SEPA Credit Transfer (STC) and the SEPA Direct Debit (SDD).

The migration to the new payment systems by 1 February 2014 will not involve the so called “financial direct debits” (that are used for payments of financial instruments) and the fixed amount direct debits, that shall be replaced by SDDs by 1 February 2016.

The creditors must communicate to their debtors/clients the migration to the new SEPA payment systems at least 30 days before the envisaged date of migration. Therefore, since the end date for the migration is 1 February 2014, such communication shall be made not later than 31 December 2013.

In addition to banks and payment services providers, the migration to the SEPA payment systems will mainly impact on those creditors that receive payments through direct debits.