Direct debits

A direct debit is a simple and easy way to collect funds directly from a bank account. It is considered a pull payment menthod as the collection of the funds is initiated by the merchant. The bank account details are provided to the merchant together with a mandate for the debiting of the bank account. The merchant instructs GlobalCollect to retreive the amount due from the bank account at the desired date.

It is typically used to make recurring payments; like utility bills. Unlike standing orders, which require the amounts to be fixed, direct debits can be used for varying amounts; the payee can simply indicate a different amount each time. In countries where setting up authorisation for direct debit is easy enough, it can also be used for one-time payments in the mail order business or even at a point of sale. Direct Debit is a highly accepted means of payment in Germany and the Netherlands. The payment method is ideal for recurring low-value transactions.

Supported countries

GlobalCollect supports the processing of Direct Debits in the following countries:

Fraud prevention services

GlobalCollect offers multiple additional services to avoid posible bank refusals and consumer reversals:

• Direct Debit Best Practice Guide
  This guide provides usefull tips when implementing Direct Debits that can reduce the number of bank refusals and consumer reversals.
• Bank Account Validation
  By using an easy to implement API you can validate if the bank account details are correct. These APIs validate the bank account details against country- and sometimes bank-specific rules. The bank details that are to be validated are different for each of the supported countries.This validation is available for all countries where GlobalCollect processes Direct Debits.
• Velocity check
  GlobalCollect can limit the number of transactions done with the same account details within 24 hours. If the maximum is reached any subsequent transactions are denied.
• Past behavior check
  For each transaction GlobalCollect can look at past behavior in terms of number and type of reversals from the same account details.
• Blacklist
  GlobalCollect will check all Direct Debit transactions against its own internal blacklist. If the account details match an entry in our blacklist GlobalCollect will deny the transaction. Merchants can request the addition of account details that they want blocked for them.
• InterCard
  Optionally GlobalCollect can check all German Direct Debit transactions against a blacklist maintained by InterCard AG.