Direct debit: What the bank does

A company must sign a special contract with the bank in order to use the direct debit system. About 135,000 companies have such a contract. To debit money from your account, the company must have a valid written mandate from you. If you have given a mandate by telephone, you must receive written confirmation within several working days.

Please note: if you are not yet a customer of the company that wants to do the direct debit, a telephone mandate is only permitted if you take the initiative. In other words, you must call the company yourself. If you are an existing customer, the company may also take the initiative.