In debit-driven Belgium, telecom, insurance, and subscription service fees have traditionally been paid via automatic account withdrawal (domiciliëring/domiciliation). SEPA Direct Debit is a pan-European scheme governed by the European Payments Council (EPC) that can repeatedly withdraw funds from a Belgian consumer's account based on a mandate (withdrawal consent).

It suits business models where the same customer is billed periodically, such as subscription digital services, memberships, and recurring-billing SaaS. If your business is centered on one-off payments, Bancontact should take priority in Belgium, and SDD should be designed exclusively for recurring payments given the risk of returned withdrawals and the refund right.

Once a consumer signs an initial mandate (SEPA direct debit authorization), payment is made by pulling funds from the consumer's account in line with the billing cycle thereafter. Scheme rules require sending a pre-notification before each withdrawal, and withdrawals can be returned due to insufficient balance or account closure, so retry logic needs to be designed. Hecto Financial receives the withdrawn euro proceeds and carries out the settlement process.

Integrating through Hecto Financial lets a Korean corporation consider adopting SEPA Direct Debit without a separate local contract in Belgium. Terms such as how mandates are collected and stored, handling of returned transactions (R-transactions), and reserve policy differ from standard one-off payments, so detailed discussion with Hecto Financial's sales team before contracting is required.

• Business registration country

  Confirm whether a contract is possible on the basis of a Korean business entity

• Sales channels

  The integration method and priority differ depending on your online sales channel mix, such as your own mall, open marketplaces, or mobile apps

• Product categories

  Advance confirmation is needed as to whether your category falls under restricted industries per the SDD scheme rules and collection agreement

• EU regulatory compliance

  Confirm compliance with EU payment regulations such as PSD2 and SEPA (see official sources below)

The withdrawn euro (EUR) proceeds are received and converted by Hecto Financial and settled to the Korean merchant in USD, KRW, or JPY as specified in the contract, on a cycle set by the contract terms. The most important point to note is that under SDD scheme rules, a consumer can request a refund without giving a reason within 8 weeks of the withdrawal date, and unauthorized withdrawals can be disputed for up to 13 months. Because there is a structural risk that even settled revenue can later be reclaimed, be sure to confirm reserve and settlement cycle terms at contracting. Standard refund processing under EU consumers' 14-day withdrawal right must also be prepared separately.

• National Bank of BelgiumOfficial source for supervision and statistics on Belgium's payment system. If this page's content differs from actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.