These FAQs are intended for all GoCardless customers based in the EEA (European Economic Area).
1). Will GoCardless be able to continue to serve customers after Brexit?
Yes. During the transition period, GoCardless SAS will become the provider of the ‘regulated’ elements of the GoCardless Service for EEA merchants, although all merchants will continue to be contracted with GoCardless Ltd as well. GoCardless SAS is our entity in France (SIREN: 834 422 180), which is authorised to provide payment services to merchants in the EEA. This means that by the end of the transition period we will be able to continue to serve merchants irrespective of the outcome of negotiations with the EU.
If you are impacted by these changes, we will contact you in advance of any possible contractual amendments or restructuring that reflect our French entity providing certain services in the EEA. Such changes won’t impact your use of the GoCardless Service on a day-to-day basis.
2). What changes have we made to the contract and the contract structure?
In preparation for Brexit we have in the past updated our online terms of service and Payment Services Agreements in accordance with their terms to clarify that the regulated services for European merchants will be provided by GoCardless SAS upon notifying you. This notification is now being provided to affected merchants via email, and the change will become effective as of 27 January 2020.
What did we change?
- We added/updated a table of Country-Specific Terms that indicate which entity is providing the merchants with regulated services.
- We added Regulated Terms, which create a contract between EEA merchants and GoCardless SAS as the provider for EEA-regulated services.
- All the unregulated elements of your service will continue to be provided by GoCardless Ltd.
For more information on the update to our online terms in August 2019 in preparation for this, see the historic update on our website.
3). What can I do if I am not happy with the updated terms to my contract?
If you object to the change, and are a Micro Enterprise (as defined in the GoCardless Merchant Agreement), you can terminate your agreement with us immediately.
If you are not a Micro Enterprise, and have no other contract with us, you are able to terminate on one month’s written notice to us.
If you are contracting with us through a Payment Services Agreement, please refer to the termination provisions which set out your right to terminate.
Of course, once your contract terminates we won’t be able to keep collecting payments for you.
If you would like to terminate your agreement, please contact your relationship manager or if you do not have a relationship manager, please contact our Support team at help@gocardless.com who will be able to assist.
4). Will my service be impacted as a result of this change?
No - there will be no negative impact on processing time frames for merchants, partners and payers.
5). Will I still be able to process SEPA payments for users in the UK?
Yes - the UK will remain within the geographic scope of SEPA. SEPA currently includes seven non-EU countries and territories: Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and the European Sovereign States of Monaco, San Marino, Liechtenstein and Andorra (for the avoidance of doubt, the UK will be a part of this list as the 8th non-EU country post Brexit).
If you are looking to collect payments in Euros from non-Eurozone countries, you will need to do so using custom payment pages. This feature allows you to build your own online payment pages. Please note that this is a Pro feature and only available to users on our Pro or Custom pricing plans.
6). Will the credit identifier (CID) change?
A CID is a unique reference which identifies each SEPA Direct Debit originator. The structure of the CID has been standardised throughout SEPA. It is made up of the respective originating ISO country code, a check digit comprising 2 characters, the Creditor Business Code and a country-specific part, called the national identifier, which may vary in length but must not exceed 28 characters. The length and format of the CID therefore differs from country to country.
GoCardless will continue to use existing UK-issued CIDs through Barclays Germany. There is no paperwork to complete or permission to be sought to use the existing CIDs. New merchants using SEPA will be issued new CIDs through Barclays Germany. It is not yet possible for new merchants to bring their existing CIDs with them when they join GoCardless.
7). How is GoCardless managing Brexit's impact on GDPR?
GDPR is in effect in the UK now, and the UK has passed the GDPR-compliant Data Protection Act. No matter what, GoCardless will continue to apply a global privacy and data protection risk management programme that includes the elements and processes necessary for GoCardless and its merchants to demonstrate compliance with GDPR’s high standards.
Brexit is likely to mean that companies transferring data from the EU to the UK will need to have a transfer mechanism in place to make the transfer lawful. Here’s what will happen for GoCardless’ data transfers. Post-Brexit, GoCardless’ financially regulated services will be provided by our French entity, GoCardless SAS, meaning any data transferred from our merchants is internal to the EU. We have executed the documents that allow us to provide services from France supported by our UK entity, including a set of GDPR-compliant standard contractual clauses. Any onward data transfers will continue to be covered by our GDPR-compliant supplier onboarding due diligence and transfer mechanisms reviewed or enacted as part of that programme.
8). Will I need to tell my customers anything?
There should be no impact to payers paying via GoCardless. We will be sure to communicate any changes or requirements as we become aware of them.
9). Will I need to pay a different GoCardless entity?
Merchants who are normally invoiced for our services and who receive a notification that their services are to be provided by GoCardless SAS, will need to pay GoCardless SAS rather than GoCardless Ltd. Where GoCardless collects amounts due using the GoCardless product (i.e. by direct debit), GoCardless will arrange a change to the bank account named on the Merchant's direct debit mandate, to change the bank account details from that of GoCardless Ltd to GoCardless SAS. There is no action required for Merchants paying via the GoCardless product.
For those Merchants who pay via other payment methods, they will need to pay GoCardless SAS rather than GoCardless Ltd. Updated bank account details will be on the invoices and Merchants will need to take an action to ensure payments are made to the correct entity going forward.