Payers (customers) in Australia need to complete a Direct Debit Request (DDR) to authorise merchants to take payments from them via BECS AU, the local Direct Debit payment scheme. DDRs are accompanied by Service Agreements, which detail the terms and conditions of the agreement being entered into.
When a merchant switches to GoCardless from another Direct Debit provider, we are required to transfer active payers' DDRs over to us from the previous provider. The transfer process is known as a bulk change.
There are 7 steps involved in the bulk change process
Before you begin this process, we recommend getting in touch with one of our Sales team on contactsales@gocardless.com, if you haven’t done so already.
1. Check your existing customers' Direct Debit Requests and Service Agreements
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Establish whether your customers' Service Agreements are held with your business or with your existing Direct Debit provider/bureau
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Make a note of the agreed notice period in your customers' Service Agreements
2. Let us know you’re ready to begin the bulk change process
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Email help@gocardless.com letting us know you’re ready to begin the bulk change process
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Include the 2 pieces of information you found out in step 1
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We’ll provide you with a template notification email to use to inform your customers of the change in provider
3. Notify your customers that you’re moving to a new Direct Debit provider
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Using the template notification that we will provide to you in response to step 2, notify all customers whose DDRs you’ll be moving over to us
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The notification must be completed in accordance with the agreed notice period in the existing Service Agreement. For example, if there’s a 14 day notice period, customers must receive at least 14 days' notice before any payments are charged via GoCardless
4. Confirm in writing to GoCardless that you’ve notified your customers
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Email us via the original email thread as per step 2 confirming that all customers have been notified
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Include a copy of any notification emails and/or letters sent to your customers
5. Upload your existing customers' details into your GoCardless account
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We’ll provide you with access to our bulk change import tool, and confirm (1) the deadline that you’ll need to complete the process by, and (2) the date that we’ll have created new DDRs for your customers in our system
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You’ll need to download the csv import template, add in your customers' details, and upload the csv into your GoCardless account
6. GoCardless processes the new DDRs
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We’ll verify and approve the details that you’ve uploaded, and then create new DDRs for your customers on the date agreed in step 5
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You’ll receive confirmation from us once this has been completed
7. Cancel your customers' previous DDRs
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You’ll need to ensure that your customers' previous DDRs are cancelled. If you’re moving to GoCardless from another DD provider, they will need to perform this action on your behalf
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We recommend that this action is performed on the same date that the new DDRs are created