[AnssiH]

> I'm not sure if banks can turn this feature off, or if it just culturally never gained traction.

Yes, the accounts in my bank (in Finland) default to SEPA Direct Debit off.

For recurring utility payments etc. we instead use Finvoice e-invoicing (https://www.finanssiala.fi/en/topics/finvoice-standard/). The customer enables e-invoices on a per-issuer basis directly from their bank web interface, with an option for auto-pay and payment limits. The payments are processed as regular SEPA payments. The e-invoice goes directly to customer's bank, replacing paper/e-mail invoices.

For paying one-time online purchases the user is redirected to their bank to authorize a one-time SEPA transfer (other non-SEPA payment methods like cards and MobilePay are common, too).