Payers (customers) in New Zealand need to complete a Direct Debit Instruction (DDI), also known as a Direct Debit Authority, to authorise merchants to take payments from them via BECS NZ, the local Direct Debit payment scheme.
When a merchant switches to GoCardless from another Direct Debit provider, we are required to transfer active payers' DDIs over to us from the previous provider. The transfer process is known as a bulk change.
There are 6 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. 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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We’ll provide you with a template notification email to use to inform your customers of the change in provider
2. 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 DDIs you’ll be moving over to us
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The notification must be sent at least 10 calendar days in advance of any payments being taken via GoCardless - this is a BECS NZ scheme rule
3. 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 1 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
4. 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 process by, and (2) the date that we’ll have created new DDIs 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
5. GoCardless process the new DDIs
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We’ll verify and approve the details that you’ve uploaded, and then create new DDIs 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
6. Cancel your customers' previous DDIs
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You’ll need to ensure that your customers' previous DDIs 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 DDIs are created