Direct Debits

Overview

The Direct Debits feature enables the configuration of automatic recurring or one-time payments from a CLABE bank account. This system facilitates payment domiciliation (domiciliación bancaria), allowing merchants to automatically collect funds from their customers according to a predefined schedule.

Direct Debits operate through Santander's domiciliación service, processing charges via batch files exchanged over SFTP. The feature supports two distinct types: scheduled fixed-amount payments and variable-amount charges.

Key Features

Flexible Recurrence

Support for multiple intervals including daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannual, and annual.

One-Time Payments

Capability to schedule single charges for fixed or variable amounts.

CLABE Validation

Integrated bank account verification via STP/CEP for Mexican CLABE accounts.

Automatic Scheduling

Automated calculation of next payment dates based on billing cycles, with weekend adjustment to business days.

Integrated Notifications

Automated email workflows for account activation, payment reminders, and failure notifications.

Lifecycle Management

Comprehensive management of different debit statuses including activation flow, retries, and cancellation.

Validation Levels

The validation level is determined by the account's feature flags:

Level	Feature Flag	Requirements
Level 1	`direct-debit-lvl-1`	Customer acknowledgment + CLABE validation via CEP (STP)
Level 2	`direct-debit-lvl-2`	Everything from Level 1 + KYC identity verification via Sumsub

Level 2 accounts require the customer to pass identity verification before the direct debit can be activated.

Core Concepts

Direct Debit

A direct debit is a specific authorization to perform automatic charges against a bank account. It contains:

Customer Information

A reference to the specific customer.

Amount & Currency

The quantity to be charged (only MXN is currently supported).

Recurrence

Whether the charge repeats or is a single event.

Billing Cycle

Defines exactly when the charge should occur.

Bank Account

The 18-digit CLABE associated with the charge, validated via CEP.

Customer CLABE Interbank Code

The CLABE (Clave Bancaria Estandarizada) is a standardized 18-digit bank code used in Mexico to uniquely identify every bank account.

Function: It is required for all domestic inter-bank electronic funds transfers (sending money between different banks within Mexico). It ensures that payroll deposits, direct debits, and transfers are applied only to the correct account.

In short, you can think of the CLABE as the unique digital fingerprint for a bank account in the Mexican banking system.