Billing information

1. What is direct debit?

Direct debit is a payment method, by which a pre-authorised agreement enables one organisation to debit money automatically from the bank account of another individual or organisation. Direct debits are made automatically, and on a regular basis.

Swift operates a system of payment by direct debit and highly recommends this method of payment. This method is favoured by 70% of Swift customers.

2. What are the advantages
of direct debit?

This service offers the following advantages:

• Automatic and electronic settlement of invoices after 40 days (manual payment terms: 30 days)
• No overdue interest charges and no reminders
• Automatic refund of credit notes

• Reduced administration costs in handling payments
• No prepayment
• Board Audit Committee decision

3. How do I register for direct debit?

First, contact your region’s commercial administrator to find out the currency that you are invoiced (EUR or USD).

Then visit Pay your Swift invoices by direct debit on our website. 

4. Can I select the currency to be invoiced?

No. We send an invoice to you in either euro (EUR) or US dollars (USD). To find out the currency that you are invoiced, contact your region’s commercial administrator.

5. What should I do if I do not have a bank account to make invoice payments in EUR or USD?

Open a EUR bank account in one of the SEPA countries or a USD bank account.

Alternatively, you can subscribe to our International Drawdown (IDD) service. This service requires you to have either a EUR or a USD account with one of the banks that participate in this service. Find out more about our IDD service.

For more information, contact Swift Treasury by email at Treasury.Generic@swift.com or by phone on +32 2 655 3567.

6. When will my direct debit service be activated?

For EUR direct debit, we will activate the service when we receive your signed SEPA mandate or international drawdown form.
For USD direct debit, we will activate the service when we receive your signed ACH authorization form or international drawdown form

You will receive a confirmation of direct debit activation via e-mail, to the address mentioned on your form.

7. What happens to invoices that are pending after the activation of the direct debit?

When your direct debit is activated, we automatically deduct the payment for all invoices from your account. This includes invoices that are pending, and new invoices that become due.

If you are charged twice during the activation process, use the Case Manager to get a refund.

8. How can I find out the total amount of my invoice?

We send a notification seven days before the value date of the direct debit. If you are connected to the Swift network, you will receive this notification through an MT 999. If not, you will receive the notification by mail or fax.

The notification shows the total amount to be debited, the invoice numbers and amounts, and the direct debit value date.

You can also see your invoices on our Billing Services page. 

9. What if I have a dispute on an invoice?

To report your dispute, use the Case Manager. The invoice can be blocked for direct debit within 30 days of the invoice date. After 30 days, and after an investigation by Swift, you will be issued either a credit note or a debit note. This will show on your next invoice. 

10. Can I print my invoices online?

Yes. You can print your invoices from the Billing Services page. 

11. How do I change my direct debit account?

For USD direct debit with accounts in US, contact Swift Treasury by one of the following methods:

• Send an e-mail to Treasury.Generic@swift.com
• Send a MT 999 to SWHQBEBBFIN

Make sure you tell us:

• your BIC code or customer number
• your new account number for direct debit
• the BIC code of your correspondent bank and its ABA number

We will activate the new account in our system and confirm the activation via e-mail to the address mentioned on your form.

For USD direct debit with accounts outside of US, contact Swift Treasury by one of the following methods:

• Send an e-mail to Treasury.Generic@swift.com
• Send a MT 999 to SWHQBEBBFIN

Make sure you tell us:

• your BIC code or customer number
• the BIC code or your correspondent bank
• the e-mail address of the responsible person

We will check with our correspondent bank if international drawdown is possible with this bank and revert to you via e-mail.

For EUR SEPA direct debit, please complete a new SEPA direct debit request, which can be found here.               

Upon receipt of this request, we will prepare your SEPA mandate and send it for signature to the email address you provided in the form.

For EUR direct debit with accounts outside of SEPA zone, please send an e-mail to Treasury.generic@swift.com with:

• your BIC code or customer number
• the BIC code of your correspondent bank
• the e-mail address of the responsible person

We will check with our correspondent bank if international drawdown is possible with this bank and revert to you via e-mail.

12. How do I close my direct debit account?

To close your direct debit account, contact Swift Treasury by one of the following methods:

• Send an e-mail to Treasury.Generic@swift.com
• Send a MT 999 to SWHQBEBBFIN

Make sure that you tell us the closing date for your direct debit.

We will send a confirmation when your direct debit account is closed. You will then need to make manual payments to the accounts shown on the invoices.