GoCardless goes down under - collect payments in Australia

We’re really excited to announce that you can now collect payments from Australia with GoCardless. The launch means our customers can now take payments from 24 countries and it brings us one step closer to delivering a global bank to bank payments network.

We have heard from many of you that Australia is an important existing or new market for your business, so we’re really looking forward to supporting you and your customers.

We think Direct Debit is the perfect solution for collecting payments, and it seems that customers in Australia agree; almost 36% of non-cash transactions were made through Direct Debit* in 2017, with trends indicating that this number will grow in 2018.

How does Direct Debit in Australia work?

Direct Debit in Australia is facilitated by the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (known as BECS). Within BECS, Direct Debit sits in the family of ‘Direct Entry’ payments, alongside Direct Credit.

BECS is managed by the Australian Payments Network, responsible for regulating Direct Entry payments, cheques, credit and debit cards, COIN and High Value transactions. Our dedicated guide takes a deeper look into the mechanics of BECS Direct Debit.

As with each of our Direct Debit schemes, GoCardless manages the relationship with the Australian Payments Network and BECS on your behalf through our sponsor bank and ensures all regulatory requirements are satisfied.

What can you expect with GoCardless and BECS Direct Debit?

Adding BECS to your GoCardless account can benefit you in the following ways:

• Access to international Direct Debit. One point of access to more than 20 countries’ Direct Debit systems, and getting started only takes a few steps.

• Reduce time spent on admin. We automate all of our processes, so you can automate your payment collection.

• Connect your existing software. Streamline your processes with our pre-built integrations for BECS payments in Xero and Zoho, with many more coming soon.

• No hidden fees. Our pricing is transparent, we don’t think that costs or fees should be a surprise to your business.

GoCardless is continually working on opening up access to Direct Debit schemes, see where’s next on our journey here.

* Bank of International Settlement, Statistics on payment, clearing and settling systems in the CPMI countries