Direct Debit and Standing Order are both automatic payment methods but have some important differences.
A standing order is an automated payment method set up between a customer and a bank to send payments to other people or organisations. A Direct Debit follows the same method, but it is authorised by a customer and managed by an organisation. A Direct Debit is set up by an organisation and they manage the frequency and amount. This is also the case for a standing order, but the difference is that the customer is in control of the frequency and amount.
What are Standing Orders and Direct Debit? 1. Direct Debit and Standing Order are both automatic payment methods
A standing order is an instruction your customer gives to their bank to pay you a fixed amount at regular intervals whether this is weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly.
With Direct Debit, your customer authorises you to collect money directly from their bank account whenever a payment is due. Direct Debit payments can vary in frequency and amount.
2. You control a Direct Debit. Customers control a standing order.
A standing order is set up by customers. They choose the amount and frequency, and can change or cancel it without notifying you.
In contrast, you have full control over the payments you take by Direct Debit. You decide how much and how often you collect from customers. You can vary the amount and frequency of collections without further authorisation from the customer and are notified automatically by the Direct Debit system of any cancellations or failures.
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Direct Debit vs Standing Order
Here’s a quick comparison of the two payment methods for you:
Cost per payment
Ostensibly free. You may incur a small charge from your bank for each payment.
Low. Depends on your provider. ( See our pricing)
Admin required
High.
Check bank statement daily to see what payments
No notification when a payment fails
Manually update your accounts
Very low.
Automatically submit 1000s of payments at once
Automatically update your accounts
Instant notifications when payments fail
Easily track payments without checking bank statements
Should I use standing order or Direct Debit?
Which is the right option for you depends on two key things:
1. Standing orders are great for very small organisations
If you have less than 25 customers, standing order may be a good option for you. Standing orders are great for smaller organisations or clubs with close relationships with their members.
However, if you have more than 25 customers Direct Debit is probably a better option for you. With a standing order, you will always need to check your bank account when a payment is due to find out whether a payment has actually been set up or if a payment has failed. On the other hand, with Direct Debit you set up the payments so you’ll know that everything’s in place. What’s more, you’ll be notified of any failures straight away so you’ll always know when you have and haven’t been paid without needing to trawl through your accounts.
2. Standing order is good if you are close to your customers
If you have less than 25 customers who you can trust to set up a standing order when asked and continue to make the payments this could be a great option for you as your customer does all the hard work for you.
However, if you aren’t sure whether you can trust your customers to set up or maintain a standing order then Direct Debit could be a better option for you.
3. Standing order is only suited to regular, fixed payments
Both Direct Debit and standing order are great for regular, fixed payments like rent or subscriptions. However, standing order isn’t great for paying bills with variable amounts or frequencies such as utility bills or credit card debts or where you may want to increase fees or upgrade subscriptions in the future. One of the greatest benefits of Direct Debit is its flexibility. You are in control so you can adjust the amount or frequency of payments whenever you need to (as long as you give your customer the required advance notice.
Both standing order and Direct Debit could be used to make one-off payments – although neither of them are typically thought of as one off payment methods. Similarly to with regular payments, Direct Debit means you control the payment so you know that the payment has been set up and when you’ll receive it so there’s no chance of a customer forgetting to set up their standing order or setting it up on the wrong date.
If you think Direct Debit might be for you and would like to find out more about how GoCardless could help you to make your payments process cheaper and easier, our features page is a good place to start.
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