Payers (customers) in Canada need to complete a Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) Agreement to authorize merchants to take payments from them via PAD, the local Direct Debit payment scheme.
When a merchant switches to GoCardless from another Direct Debit provider, we are required to transfer active payers' PAD Agreements 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
- Once you're ready to get started, please send an email to help@gocardless.com letting us know you wish to begin the bulk change process.
- 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 1, notify all customers whose PAD Agreements you’ll be moving over to us
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The notification must be completed in accordance with the agreed PAD notice period, which is 10 working days
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 the process by, and (2) the date that we’ll have created new PAD Agreements 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 processes the new PAD Agreements
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We’ll verify and approve the details that you’ve uploaded, and then create new PAD Agreements for your customers on the date agreed in step 4
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You’ll receive confirmation from us once this has been completed
6. Cancel your customers' previous PAD Agreements
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You’ll need to ensure that your customers' previous PAD Agreements 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 PAD Agreements are created