The solution enables the migration of legacy mandates to SEPA Direct Debit, ongoing mandate management, document handling and the generation of payment instructions. It offers a one-stop shop for full mandate life-cycle management and the enrichment of legacy collection files to SEPA-compliant standards, as required from 1 February 2014 by SEPA legislation. Of particular note is that Bank of America Merrill Lynch clients will be able to benefit from the solution with minimal changes to their existing processes.

Ad van der Poel, Product Management executive for EMEA at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, comments, "SEPA is an important development for our clients doing business in Europe. Sentenial is a specialist provider of SEPA payment solutions and our partnership with them greatly enhances our value proposition in this space. Bringing this mature product set seamlessly into the Bank of America Merrill Lynch portfolio will greatly assist our clients to reap the benefits of SEPA in a simple manner."

Sean Fitzgerald, CEO of Sentenial, added, "Sentenial is delighted to be chosen by a leading global bank. Combining our extensive SEPA knowledge and experience with Bank of America Merrill Lynch's large footprint and client solutions-focused approach, this partnership provides an excellent platform for SEPA adoption. With regulatory migration deadlines quickly approaching, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has taken positive actions to ensure its clients are fully equipped to make the most of SEPA."