Can I use Verse to receive my salary, or to pay for recurring expenses like a gym membership or a phone bill?

Of course 😄. You can direct deposit both your payroll and your recurring expenses (for example, a monthly gym bill, or your mobile phone contract) from your Verse account, as long as your employer (in the case of your payroll) or the companies (in the case of the gym, or the provider) allow it. They shouldn't pose restrictions, and should allow you to use your Verse account to direct debit this type of expenses.

💡 Being an account based in Lithuania (you will see that the IBAN of your Verse account starts with LT), there may be cases where companies reject it, and therefore do not allow you to make the direct debit with your Verse account and, instead, require you to make the direct debit with a 'local' account (that is, with an account based in the country where the company is located). This practice is known as "IBAN discrimination", and occurs when a company rejects the IBAN of your account to perform direct debits or accept payments. This practice is strictly prohibited by SEPA Regulation and EU law. The IBAN of your Verse account enjoys the same protection as any IBAN of the country where the company is located, and therefore must be accepted by the company under the same conditions.