Frequently asked questions

Starting from 1 Feb 2020, we gradually began introducing new pricing to our existing customer base. The frequently asked questions below will help clarify why and how this price change is happening.

Why is GoCardless changing its pricing?

GoCardless has been helping businesses take the pain out of getting paid since 2011. 

Over the past 10 years, we’ve continuously invested in improving our offering for the more than 60,000 businesses whom we now serve every month. This includes expanding and improving our integrations with Partners (including Xero, Sage and many more), upgrading our dashboard and API, developing additional products like our payments intelligence tool Success+, and introducing new services including International FX, as well as our faster payments service, Instant Bank Pay, which allows you to send one-off payment requests that are collected and confirmed immediately.

Most recently, we’ve also launched our brand new Customer Hub and GoCardless University, which empowers you to develop your skills and get the most out of GoCardless at a pace that works best for you.

This is the first significant change to our pricing and we believe it is a fair reflection of the services that we offer.  We did not take the decision to change our pricing lightly as we appreciate the impact that this has on businesses and business owners. However, it is no longer sustainable for us to continue charging the prices that in some cases we set in 2011.

What is changing with my pricing?

The pricing outlined in our pricing page already applies to any customers that signed up to GoCardless services on or after 19 Nov 2019. 

We are in the process of moving our existing customers to this new pricing structure. If you signed up to GoCardless services before 19 Nov 2019 we will ensure that you are notified in advance with a 60-day notice period before this new pricing is applied to your account. 

When is this price change happening?

If you received a pricing change notification from us in November 2019, then this new pricing has been applied to your account since 1 Feb 2020. 

If you have received notification about an update to your pricing in September 2021, your new pricing will come into effect from 1 Dec 2021. 

We will be continuing to update pricing plans over the coming months, making sure that everyone is given a 60-day notice period before any changes come into effect, in line with our Merchant Agreement.

Why haven’t I received a communication about this new pricing?

We are in the middle of a phased process of moving our existing customers to this new pricing structure. If you have not heard from us yet, we will be in touch soon and will ensure that you have a 60-day notice period before this new pricing applies to your account.

Why has it taken so long to move customers over to the new pricing structure?

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we made the decision to freeze any pricing changes for existing merchants to help support our customers through this difficult time.

You already increased my prices last year. Why are you contacting me about another increase now?

In April 2020, a change in the application of tax law meant that GoCardless’ services no longer qualified as VAT exempt. We were instructed by HMRC to charge VAT going forward on all of our fees for supplies made in the UK at the UK Standard Rate (currently 20%). Due to the change coming into effect at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to absorb the cost of VAT for existing customers until 1st September 2020 to provide an extended notice period.

The updated pricing plan, which comes into effect from 1st December 2021, is the first change that we are making to your account that is within our control.

I’m a charity. Does this pricing change still apply to me?

If you're a registered charity, then you’re eligible for our new Charity Pricing plan which will be in place from 1st January 2022. You can find out more about this plan here. 

What is a high value transaction surcharge & why are you charging it?

Many of our customers have expressed the need to collect payments of a larger value, and previously we were not able to support this need due to the higher fraud & chargeback risk that comes with high value transactions. We are solving this with the introduction of a high value transaction surcharge, so customers will now have the ability to collect payments of higher value. 

For any customers that don’t collect high value payments, this will not affect you. This surcharge of 0.3% only applies to the portion of the payment that is above a set threshold (for example, the threshold for UK customers is £2,000). You can refer to the pricing page on our website to find out what the threshold is for you.

Note that high value transaction surcharge only applies to domestic bank debit transactions, and does not apply to international and Instant Bank Pay transactions.

Are you charging for failed transactions or chargebacks?

If you are based in Germany, Austria, or the United States, a chargeback and transaction failure fee will be applicable. This reflects the cost that we face from our sponsor banks in these markets.

If you are based in other countries that we serve, we will continue to not charge for failed transactions or chargebacks.

I collect a large amount of payments every month, does GoCardless offer volume-based pricing?

Yes we do. In some cases and depending on your transaction volume, you might be able to negotiate a better price by committing to an annual contract with us. If you are interested in discussing custom volume-based pricing, please contact our sales team here. 

What happens if I am collecting payments from customers in different countries?

On the new pricing, you can still collect payments internationally and have them paid into your existing bank accounts. The main change is that any international transactions processed outside of your home scheme(s) will now be subject to our International pricing plan. 

This also includes access to our FX facility at no additional cost, so payments can be converted into your home currency before being paid out to you.

I don’t actually know the pricing I’m currently on, how can I find out?

Please contact our support team so we can help you understand what your current pricing is.