Payers (customers) in the US need to complete an ACH Debit Authorization, also known as a Consumer Authorization, to authorize merchants to take payments from them via ACH Debit, the local Direct Debit payment scheme.
When a merchant switches to GoCardless from another provider, we transfer active payers' ACH Debit Authorizations over to us in 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 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
2. Notify relevant customers that you're moving to a new ACH Debit provider
- Unlike many other schemes, you only need to notify customers in ACH of a bulk change if it also involves a change to their charge date and/or amount.
- If either of these is changing, you'll need to provide notice to relevant customers in line with the following notice periods:
- Charge date - at least 7 banking days prior to the next debit
- Charge amount - at least 10 banking days before the next debit
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 either:
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All relevant customers have been notified; or
- No customers were notified, since all charge dates and charge amounts are remaining the same
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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 ACH Debit Authorizations 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
- Payments/subscriptions will need to be created after customers have been imported to your GoCardless dashboard
5. GoCardless processes the new ACH Debit Authorizations
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We’ll verify and approve the details that you’ve uploaded, and then create new ACH Debit Authorizations 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 ACH Debit Authorizations
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You’ll need to ensure that your customers' previous ACH Debit Authorizations are cancelled. If you’re moving to GoCardless from another 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 ACH Debit Authorizations are created
IMPORTANT: Under the NACHA rules, return authorizations (i.e., chargebacks) can be made up to 2 years after an ACH Debit Authorization has been cancelled. You (the merchant) must therefore keep the original authorization and records for at least 2 years after the last transaction.