GoCardless direct debit

GoCardless is a global Direct Debit platform that allows you to collect recurring payments from your customers' bank accounts. With GoCardless you can accept Electronic fund transfers such as direct debit payments from your customers in:

• United States via ACH (Automated Clearing House)
• United Kingdom via BACS (Bankers' Automated Clearing System)
• New Zealand via BECS (Bulk Electronic Clearing System)
• Australia via BECS (Bulk Electronic Clearing System)
• Canada via PADs (Pre-authorized debits)

ACH, BACS, BECS Australia, BECS New Zealand, and PAD are networks of financial institutions that process payments directly from one bank account to another in a particular country or group of countries.

Understanding payments via GoCardless

When a customer initiates a direct debit payment, their bank instructs a third party to collect a certain amount of money from their account. GoCardless sets up and processes Direct Debit payments on your behalf, taking care of all the administrative, regulatory and legal requirements for you, including:

• Customer authorisation: GoCardless automatically sends authorisation forms to customers.
• Notifying customers: GoCardless sends customers a bank-approved advance notice of each payment.
• Submitting payment requests: GoCardless handles all submissions on your behalf.
• Collecting as fast as possible: GoCardless has optimised the Direct Debit collection process to collect funds quickly.

Customer Notifications

According to the direct debit network, customers must be notified of mandate creation and before charging their account.  GoCardless offers fully compliant emails that can be sent on your behalf.

Direct Debit notifications fall into two categories, which can be sent together:

• Mandate setup confirmation
• Payment notifications (also known as ‘advance notice’)

Mandate setup confirmation

A mandate setup confirmation tells your customer that their Direct Debit mandate has been set up correctly. You must send it within 3 working days of the customer signing up or incorporate it into the customer's first payment notification. You can send the mandate setup confirmation by email or post.

To be compliant, a mandate confirmation must include the following information:

• The heading “Important: Confirmation of the setup of your Direct Debit to [Merchant]”, alongside a Direct Debit logo
• The payer's redacted bank details, the mandate reference and the name on the SUN
• The Direct Debit Guarantee, with a Direct Debit logo, or a link to it
• The address and phone number of the merchant

Payment notifications

A payment notification tells your customer when they can expect a single payment or stream of regular payments to leave their account. Just like mandate confirmations, payment notifications are mandatory. You can send them by email or post.

To be compliant, a payment notification must include the following information:

• How much notice will be given for future payments (if this is the first notification)
• The amount, reference and date of the collection(s)
• The address and phone number of the merchant

What is a Direct Debit mandate?

A Direct Debit Instruction is an authorisation from your customer to collect future payments. The details of each authorisation are standardised:

1. All future payments are authorised so you can collect any amount at any time from your customer.
2. Your customer must be notified of each payment before it is collected. 
3. All payments are covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee which protects customers from payments taken in error. 

Setting up a direct debit

When your customer is ready to set up a Direct Debit, they can do so by login into their MyAccount customer portal and navigation to the Set Up A Direct Debit page.   By clicking on the setup up your direct debit button and the GoCardless fully compliant hosted form is displayed.

The GoCardless hosted form for your customer to enter their account details.

After your customer has entered their bank details, they will be asked to confirm their details and set up the Direct Debit and a mandate will be generated (View your Direct Debit instruction link). This mandate authorises GoCardless to collect payments from them on your behalf.

Mandate example.

Once the form is submitted, GoCardless will send an email confirmation to your customer.

Direct debit already set up

If your customer has already set up their direct debit, this will be displayed.  To edit the existing direct debit, click on Change direct debit details button and make the changes.

You can view and action the Direct Debit request in the Calls & Activities menu.

In the Customer details menu, select Finance.  The Payment Method will be displayed.  

Note: Bank account and credit card details are held in your GoCardless account and not in Utilmate. You are not able to edit these fields in Utilmate.

FAQ's

Q. When are the Direct Debit details sent to GoCardless? 

A. 5 days before the invoice due date, payment is taken on the due date 

Q. How to stop details from being sent to GoCardless within Utilmate? 

A. Update the payment method to CHEQUE before the DD is sent to GoCardless (5 days before the Invoice Due Date)

Q. What if the customer pays the full amount before the DD is sent to GoCardless?

A. No DD will be sent to GoCardless

Q. What if the customer pays partial amount before the DD is sent to GoCardless?

A. DD receipt will be created with the remaining balance and sent to GoCardless

Q.  What if an adjustment is made on the customers account before the DD is sent to GoCardless?

A.  When the DD process happens, it will take the amount due including the adjustments, so the amended amount will be direct debited. 

Q. What if the invoice is reversed after sending the DD to GoCardless?

A. If the receipt has been created, it has gone to GoCardless. It can be stopped in GoCardless directly if in the initial status, the receipt will then be dishonoured. 

Q. What if an adjustment is made on the customers account after the DD is sent to GoCardless?

A. If the receipt has been created, it has gone to GoCardless. It can be stopped in GoCardless directly if in the initial status, the receipt will then be dishonoured. 

Q. What if the customer pays the full amount after the DD is sent to GoCardless?

A. The DD will still be taken and the account will go into credit. It can be stopped in GoCardless directly if in the initial status, the receipt will then be dishonoured. 

Q. What if the customer pays a partial amount after the DD is sent to GoCardless?

A. The DD will still be taken and the account will go into credit. It can be stopped in GoCardless directly if in the initial status, the receipt will then be dishonoured.