It is also the very first bank to send a direct debit transaction via the SEPA scheme.

Citi customers will now be able to access the first pan-European Euro Direct Debit scheme in all eligible markets where Citi has a geographical presence. Citi will be reachable as a debtor bank for both Core and B2B schemes in all of its 22 countries within the SEPA area. SEPA DD collections will be offered to creditor customers in 9 markets initially, with a plan to roll out the capability to all the 22 markets by mid 2010.

As one of the first practitioners of the new SEPA DD offering, Citi is providing clients the opportunity to streamline and simplify their processes through its pan-European Direct Debit scheme. The launch of the SEPA DD scheme will provide innumerable benefits to corporate clients such as consistent collection of cross-border invoices for collections taking place anywhere in the 32 country SEPA geography (EEA, Switzerland and Monaco), harmonized standards, a single legal framework and facilitation of centralized collections.

Karin Flinspach, Head of Receivables for Europe, Middle East & Africa, Citi, said "As an industry leader and participant, we feel that it is vital that we support this scheme and truly believe in the value of SEPA DD. We will continue to work closely with our customers to help them to achieve the many advantages possible as a result of this new scheme. Citi is committed to playing an active role in delivering the SEPA DD proposition. It also seeks to influence future market developments by having ongoing enrolling conversations with our clients and providing their views and feedback to the industry relevant forums and commissions where Citi is a full member and actively leading discussions."