What is the difference between Request to Pay and direct debit?

With direct debit, the payee pulls money from the payer's account under a mandate. With Request to Pay, the payee only sends a request, and the payer decides whether and when to push the payment. The payer stays in control of every payment.

Direct debit: pull

The payer signs a mandate once. The payee then collects each payment on the due date. It is convenient for regular bills, but payments can fail for insufficient funds, and in the SEPA Core scheme the payer can ask for a refund within eight weeks for an authorized debit.

Request to Pay: push

Each payment starts with a request that the payer accepts or declines. Once accepted, the transfer is usually instant and, like other credit transfers, cannot be pulled back by the payer through a refund right. The payer can also choose to pay later or in part, depending on the scheme.

Choosing between them

• Direct debit suits regular, predictable payments where convenience matters most.
• Request to Pay suits invoices, variable amounts and one-off payments where the payer wants control.
• Both can coexist in the same billing setup.

What it means for payment operators

For your merchants, the two methods produce different flows: mandates and returns on one side, requests and instant transfers on the other. Supporting both, with reconciliation that tracks each status, lets them pick the right one per customer.