To realise the vision of a common European payments market the EU Commission has drawn up new regulations, intended to harmonise consumer protection laws in the European countries. These regulations will be introduced into Swedish legislation no earlier than April 1 2010. In cooperation with the Swedish banks the Bankgiro has defined what they will entail for the Autogiro service.
What are the contents of the new law?
The new law will regulate the payer’s right to request a refund on an executed direct debit payment, thereby providing improved customer protection.
The definition of a refund
A refund is defined as the payers’ legal right to request and receive a refund on an executed Direct Debit payment from their bank. There are two different scenarios in which a refund can be requested:
- A non-approved Autogiro payment was executed – i.e. a mandate had not been signed prior to the payment being made, or the mandate had been terminated before the payment was made.
- An approved Autogiro payment was executed – i.e. a mandate had been signed prior to the payment being made but the amount withdrawn was not specified and considered unreasonable.
Potentially more Autogiro payments with increased consumer protection Direct debit services are very popular in many European countries and this is in part attributed to strong consumer protection regulations. Hopefully the result will be the same in Sweden, with the new regulations making payers feel more secure and more willing to use the Autogiro service.
What will the new law entail for you (the software company)?
If you want to allow your customers to see and process refunds in your software you will need to adapt the software to the new file layouts in Nya Autogiro (New Direct Debit).
If your software is not adapted your customers will need to use the new web service – Autogiro Online – to get complete payment information once Nya Autogiro has been introduced. Autogiro Online will be available through the internet bank or through
www.bankgirot.se.