What is SEPA Direct Debit, and why is it considered challenging for e-commerce use?
Payments
Asked by Question Bot07/Jan/20161 answer
1 Answer
F
Faisal Khan
Answered 07/Jan/2016
The SEPA Direct Debit problem when it comes to e-commerce is all to do with this:
Since most of Europe is on CHIP+PIN, if you want to be able to pay directly from your bank account (all 3,700+ bank accounts are linked in SEPA), then you would need a CHIP+PIN reader.
Now this poses a problem when you are say browsing a website on your iPad or iPhone. Imagine going to the checkout page, and if you decide to pay with your Direct Debit account, you would then need to connect one of these little buggers, go to your bank site and approve the transaction. Huge pain point.
This is even worse when you're mobile. Sitting in a cafe, train or bus, you'd have to dig deep into your backpack or purse, get the card reader out, get your card out, authorize the transaction, etc.
This is where a startup like Sign2Pay (see : http://www.sign2pay.com) is making inroads (but for mobile only).
They have implemented a "biometric signature" pay, where you simply turn your phone into landscape mode, sign with your finger and pay. No CHIP+PIN reader needed, etc.
Since most of Europe is on CHIP+PIN, if you want to be able to pay directly from your bank account (all 3,700+ bank accounts are linked in SEPA), then you would need a CHIP+PIN reader.
Now this poses a problem when you are say browsing a website on your iPad or iPhone. Imagine going to the checkout page, and if you decide to pay with your Direct Debit account, you would then need to connect one of these little buggers, go to your bank site and approve the transaction. Huge pain point.
This is even worse when you're mobile. Sitting in a cafe, train or bus, you'd have to dig deep into your backpack or purse, get the card reader out, get your card out, authorize the transaction, etc.
This is where a startup like Sign2Pay (see : http://www.sign2pay.com) is making inroads (but for mobile only).
They have implemented a "biometric signature" pay, where you simply turn your phone into landscape mode, sign with your finger and pay. No CHIP+PIN reader needed, etc.