A CI number, or SEPA creditor identifier, is an important piece of information for French companies receiving direct withdrawals from their financial institution. It uniquely identifies the issuer and enables the setup of SEPA debits, helping keep recurring payments across Europe traceable and protected.

This article explains what a CI number is, how it works, how to get one, and how to verify a SEPA creditor identifier to ensure traceability of ongoing withdrawals.

What’s in this article?

• Summary of the SEPA Direct Debit
  
• What is a CI number?
  
• What are the advantages of a SEPA creditor identifier?
  
• Obtaining a CI number
  
• Where to find your SEPA creditor identifier
  
• Verifying a CI number
  
• How to accept more payments with Stripe Payments
  

Summary of the SEPA Direct Debit

‍The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Direct Debit is an intra-European method of pay that allows debtors to authorize their creditors to initiate automatic, recurring debits from the debtor’s bank account using a direct debit mandate. This type of collection is especially useful for paying repeating bills and subscriptions, ensuring transfers are both secure and automatic.

It is called a SEPA Direct Debit because, since 2014, this payment option has been available throughout the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA), as well as Albania, Andorra, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Vatican. It simplifies and protects cross-border transfers between businesses in these countries, whether the transactions are B2B or B2C.

The SEPA Direct Debit offers numerous benefits for organizations providing ongoing services to the same client, such as utility providers (electricity, internet, and mobile plan), and for companies offering subscriptions for products or services. It makes certain collections are made on a specific date, facilitating cash flow, preventing late payments and nonpayment, simplifying accounting, and offering customer convenience.

What is a CI number?

The SEPA creditor identifier, also called a CI number, is a unique code assigned by the Banque de France to businesses for SEPA Direct Debits. This number facilitates the clear identification of a transaction within the eurozone, allowing the borrower’s bank to make a payment by debit.

The French creditor identifier contains 13 alphanumeric characters:

• Two characters indicate the country code where the entity is registered
  
• Two digits indicate the verification code
  
• Three characters indicate the company’s industry code
  
• Six characters indicate the previous NNE (Numéro National d’Émetteur, or national originator number) reference
  

Example of a SEPA creditor identifier: FR54BCD007008

As part of the new SEPA standard, the CI number replaced the NNE on August 1, 2014, enabling more efficient and safer debit transactions. This number is required to issue SEPA Direct Debits and appears in the direct authorization alongside the unique mandate reference number. It also accompanies every charge to certify proper identification.

Please note a single business is given one CI number, which remains permanent and cannot be modified. The creditor identifier remains the same regardless of changes to the legal details (including its name, leadership, address, or financial institution data). Furthermore, the CI number is separate from the lender's other banking information, such as the IBAN or BIC.

What are the advantages of the SEPA creditor identifier?

The SEPA creditor identifier significantly enhances the management of recurring payments, as it allows charges to be issued and plays a key role in ensuring the security and traceability of bank transactions between debtors and creditors. Specifically, it guarantees:

• A notification to the borrower before any scheduled collection
  
• Authentication of each transfer’s origin
  
• Verification that a direct authorization exists and is valid
  
• The ability to dispute or refund a charge in the event of error or fraud—8 weeks for the debtor to challenge an authorized debit, and 13 months to challenge an unauthorized debit
  

Obtaining a CI number

The lender must request a CI number from the Banque de France through their financial institution. To obtain one, applicants need to prove they operate in the country. Businesses must submit a Kbis extract, while individuals provide proof of identity. Authorities deliver the SEPA creditor identifier within roughly three weeks.

Where to find your SEPA creditor identifier

The SEPA creditor identifier appears on:

• Direct debit mandates signed by clients making payments
  
• Customer account statements
  
• Advance notifications of SEPA charges
  
• Creditor bank documents
  

Verifying a CI number

A financial institution can check a CI number in certain circumstances:

• When assigning an identifier, verify whether a CI number already exists and confirm that the requester is its legitimate owner
  
• When a SEPA Direct Debit is authorized, to validate the creditor identifier in the SEPA banking system
  
• At the request of a customer
  

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