Sweden's SEB is to outsource processing of Sepa direct debit transactions to European payment processor Equens.
Under the agreement, Equens will start processing all SEB Group direct debits across Europe in November in compliance with the EU-mandated deadline for introduction of the new Sepa-compliant payment instruments.
Edwin Echl, global head of payments operations at SEB, says: "Outsourcing the processing of SDD payments is one of the first steps in our strategy to centralise the payment services of the entire SEB group."
He says the bank selected Equens because of its pan-European market coverage.
Equens currently has offices in four countries and lists clients in eight countries.