GoCardless and Zuora partner up to revolutionise global subscription payments

At GoCardless, we’re always looking for ways we can better serve our 55,000+ customers, and one powerful way of doing this is partnering with other providers in those customers' billing tech stacks.

Today, we’re announcing one of our most important partnerships to date, a new strategic partnership with the global subscription management provider Zuora.

A new product integration for global recurring payment collection

The partnership between Zuora and GoCardless will involve both brands working together on multiple fronts, but the key area of the partnership that will benefit customers of both businesses is our new product integration. 

This new integration will allow Zuora customers from over 30 countries - including the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and the Eurozone - to process recurring payments using GoCardless, while simultaneously reducing churn and payment-related costs.

GoCardless uses bank debit (better known as Direct Debit in the UK) to collect recurring payments, and this payment method is increasingly being seen as a forward-thinking alternative to legacy methods like wire transfers, cheques and even credit card payments. Bank debit is particularly preferred for online subscriptions.

Over the past eight years, subscription revenue has grown up to 8x faster than the sales revenue of the S&P 500, according to Zuora’s Subscription Economy® Index. There is a clear benefit for customers having access to an out-of-the-box solution for collecting using bank debit, particularly for brands operating internationally, because bank debit allows companies to access 44% more markets.

“It’s critical for any company with a significant share of its revenue obtained from cross-border transactions, as well as any business hoping to scale internationally, to have a seamless payment collection experience – not only to drive efficiencies across accounting and collection operations, but to drive a consistent and seamless customer experience.” 

​- Thomas Zink, Research Director, IDC.

The payment method best suited to today’s Subscription Economy

The advanced automation within the GoCardless recurring payment solution, combined with the unparalleled agility of Zuora’s billing platform, equips subscription businesses in their monetisation plans as they launch, bill, and strategically iterate new subscription offerings. Using the Zuora and GoCardless integration, customers can expect to reduce churn and reduce total payment costs.

Offering a variety of payment methods catered to customer preferences, the Subscribed Institute’s Global Recurring Payments report estimates that subscription businesses can achieve up to 5% lower churn rates and up to 4% higher growth rates. Plus, intelligent retry logic and automated dunning functionalities, ultimately helping to reduce involuntary customer churn.

When it comes to payment-related costs, the worst pain is felt in processing fees and recovery costs. Card processing fees are inherently high, compounded by FX costs and hidden fees associated with a high volume of cross-border transactions.  The Zuora and GoCardless solution automates the entire payment process, from invoice to collection and reconciliation, reducing the number of resources needed. It also eliminates hidden domestic and international fees, significantly reducing costs of managing a global recurring revenue business.

Several global brands, including DocuSign, are already powering the collection of subscription payments with GoCardless and Zuora: 

"We want our global customers to have access to simple and easy payment methods when purchasing DocuSign, and offering GoCardless as a key payment option helps us achieve this. Offering bank debit as a payment option means customers are able to complete quick and easy transactions. The new GoCardless and Zuora solution is uniquely suited for the recurring nature of subscription payments as the entire billing and payment process is managed from a single platform."

- Beverly Tu, Director of eCommerce Growth at DocuSign said: 

Working in tandem to revolutionise global subscription payments

While the new product integration is the backbone of our partnership, Zuora and GoCardless will work on many different initiatives to ensure global subscription payments are optimised for our customers, including co-authored research and participation at Zuora Subscribed events.

For now, however, simply watch this space.

“We’re excited to expand our partnership with GoCardless to help subscription businesses carry out successful payment collection experiences, and truly embody the agility required to scale in today’s Subscription Economy. Our enhanced, integrated solution serves as a foundation for businesses to effectively execute a global payments strategy, removing inefficiencies and barriers to scaling in international markets.”

- Chris Battles, Chief Product Officer at Zuora