When creating a payment, you'll choose between two collection methods.
Direct Debit
Money is collected from your customer's bank account via their signed mandate. It takes 3 business working days to process. Best for scheduled, recurring, or planned collections.
Direct Debit puts you in control. You decide when to collect and how much. There's no waiting for your customer to remember to pay, no chasing late invoices, and no awkward follow up emails. The payment happens automatically on the date you set.
It's better for your customers too. They don't have to log into their bank, remember due dates, or manually transfer money every time. It's one less thing on their to do list. They sign the mandate once and everything is handled from there.
Collected automatically from the customer's account. 3 business days processing time. Protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee. Works for one off, recurring, and split payments. Your customer is notified before each collection. No more late payments.
Instant bank pay
Open banking powered by Plaid. Your customer authorises the payment instantly, and the funds are sent to you via faster payments. Best when you need the money now.
Processed and paid out instantly. Uses open banking, so no mandate is needed for this specific payment. Ideal for urgent or ad hoc collections.
Which should you use?
If you want control over your cash flow, automated collections, and no more chasing, go with Direct Debit. If you need the money immediately or it's a one time ad hoc payment, use Instant bank pay.