Direct Debit

Along with card payments, you can accept payments via direct debit in Chargebee. Direct debit payments are initiated by you (the merchant) and made directly from a customer's bank account. They are usually processed through a network of financial institutions—the ACH Network in the United States of America, BACS in the United Kingdom, and SEPA in Europe, to name a few.

Direct debit payments are praised for their convenience, security, and automation. Here is an overview of what Chargebee can do for you if you want to accept direct debit payments directly from your customers' bank accounts.

Country-specific direct debit payment methods

Let us review the country-specific direct debit payment methods/networks:

United States of America (USA)

Direct debit payments (one-time or recurring) in the USA are processed through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network, comprised of over ten thousand financial institutions across the US.

Refer to the links below to learn more about configuring ACH via the supported gateways:

• ACH via Stripe
• ACH via Authorize.Net
• ACH via Checkout.com
• ACH via Adyen
• ACH via Braintree
• ACH via BlueSnap
• ACH via GoCardless
• ACH via QuickBooks Payments
• ACH via Worldpay US eCom

Consider the following points before you choose ACH as your payment solution:

• The settlement timeline for ACH payments is longer compared to card payments. While card payments are settled in two to three days, ACH payments take three to five days depending on the gateway.
• Direct debit via ACH is not supported with Chargebee's Hosted Pages v1 (Single Page Checkout).
• USD is the only supported currency as the ACH network is comprised of banks only in the USA.

Europe

Direct debit payments in Europe are processed via specific direct debit networks in different regions. Refer to the links below to learn more about the payment method in general.

• Eurozone – SEPA (The Single Euro Payments Area): SEPA is a unique euro payment area that establishes an integrated European market for payment instruments. Chargebee supports SEPA via the following gateways:

  • SEPA via Stripe
  • SEPA via Adyen
  • SEPA via Mollie
  • SEPA via BlueSnap
  • SEPA via GoCardless
  • SEPA via Checkout.com

• Sweden – Autogiro: It is a system designed for collecting payments denominated in krona directly from a bank account located in Sweden. Chargebee supports Autogiro via the following gateway:

  • Autogiro via GoCardless

United Kingdom

Direct debit payments in the UK are processed via BACS (Bankers' Automated Clearing Services). It is the most popular method of making electronic payments in the United Kingdom. Chargebee supports BACS via the following gateways:

• BACS via Stripe
• BACS via Adyen
• BACS via GoCardless
• BACS via Mollie

Australia

Direct debit payments in Australia are processed via BECS (Bulk Electronic Clearing System). It is a payment system used for processing debit transactions directly from bank accounts in Australia. Chargebee supports BECS-AU via the following gateways:

• BECS via Stripe
• BECS via GoCardless

New Zealand

Direct debit payments in New Zealand are processed via BECS (Bulk Electronic Clearing System). It is a payment system used for processing debit transactions directly from bank accounts in New Zealand. Chargebee supports BECS-NZ via the following gateway:

• BECS-NZ via GoCardless

Canada

Direct debit payments in Canada are processed via PADs (Pre-authorized debits). It is a secure, online self-service payment option for customers to make payments. As a customer, you can pre-authorize the debit and the biller can directly withdraw the said amount when the payment is due. Chargebee supports PADs via the following gateway:

• PADs via GoCardless

Advanced configurations

Once you have enabled your direct debit payment method for the desired payment gateway, you can move to the advanced configuration in which you can allow displaying direct debit as a payment method for all or specific customers based on your preference.

You can find the advanced configuration section on the gateway configuration page as shown below:

Select the necessary option from the Display Direct Debit as a payment method drop-down list. Available options are:

• All your customers – This option allows all your customers (including new customers) to pay via SEPA irrespective of whether the "Allow this customer to pay via his/her Bank Account" option is enabled on the customer's details page.
• Customers with direct debit payments enabled.

Make sure you have Direct Debit enabled based on your requirements to view the advanced configurations section.

Adding bank account in Chargebee

Follow the steps below to add a bank account in Chargebee:

1. Log in to your Chargebee site.
2. Go to Customer and open the details of the desired customer.
3. Click on Add Bank account.

4. Enter all the necessary details and click Submit.