Bank debit
Your client pays the invoice with a direct debit from their bank account, with the authorization and notices their country’s scheme requires.
This feature is new and may not be enabled on your account yet. If you don’t see it, write to us.
What it is
With bank debit, your client pays with a direct debit from their bank account instead of a card. When paying they accept an authorization (the mandate) and the bank confirms the debit days later. Cord offers the scheme that matches your business’s country, always in its currency.
It’s different from bank transfer with a reference: with a transfer your client sends the money from their bank; with a debit, you collect it with their authorization.
Schemes by country
 SEPA Direct Debit |
ACH bank debit | Bacs Direct Debit | Pre-authorized debit (Canada) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses in | Spain, Germany, and France | United States | United Kingdom | Canada |
| Currency | EUR only | USD only | GBP only | CAD only |
| Client’s account | IBAN in the SEPA area | US bank account | UK account (sort code and account number) | Canadian bank account |
| Confirmation | Up to 6 business days | Up to 4 business days | 4 business days; 7 with a new mandate | Up to 5 business days |
| Refunds | Full or partial, up to 180 days | Full only, up to 180 days | Full or partial, up to 180 days | Full or partial, up to 180 days |
| Account holder disputes | Can return a debit without giving a reason for 8 weeks | Under ACH rules | Can dispute a debit with their bank at any time | 90 days on a personal account; 10 business days on a business account |
| Save the account for automatic payments | From the portal, without paying | From the portal, without paying | Only when paying an invoice from the portal | From the portal, without paying |
The scheme’s notices (the mandate confirmation and the notice for each debit) are sent by the payment processor to the email your client enters in the payment form.
Requirements
- Country and currency: a business in one of the countries in the table and an invoice in its scheme’s currency. An invoice in another currency doesn’t offer bank debit.
- An active payments account and the method activated on your account by the payment processor.
- Payment settings permission to turn it on.
Turn it on
- Open Settings › Payments › Payment methods with the Payment settings permission. Your payments account has to be active; before that, the Cord Payments methods appear locked.
- Under Online payments, turn on your country’s scheme: SEPA Direct Debit (Spain, Germany, and France), ACH bank debit (United States), Bacs Direct Debit (United Kingdom), or Pre-authorized debit (Canada).
- Cord requests the method from the payment processor for your account. While it’s under review, it isn’t offered to any client yet.
- Once the processor activates it, it appears as an option on your invoice links in the scheme’s currency, in the client portal, and in automatic payments.
If the screen says the method isn’t available, the processor didn’t enable it: check the pending requirements of your payments account.
How a debit works
- Where it’s offered: on the invoice link, in the client portal, and as the saved method for automatic payments, only on invoices in its currency. It isn’t offered on the quote link or for retainers.
- It takes days. While the bank confirms, the invoice shows that a payment is in progress: it can’t be charged again or voided, and the invoice detail says so. When the debit is confirmed, the payment is applied like any other; if the bank rejects it, the invoice goes back to unpaid.
- Where Cord charges a fee (today, in MXN), it isn’t offered. Cord’s fee is a card fee and there’s no approved rate for debits. Outside MXN, Cord charges no platform fee; see Fees.
- Turning it off stops offering it on new payments; debits already in progress continue.
- A confirmed debit can still be disputed under its scheme (see the table). Keep that in mind before handing over something of high value against a recently confirmed debit.
Canadian pre-authorized debit
- Business or individual. Before the payment form, the link asks Paying from your bank account? with Yes, as a business and Yes, as an individual. The answer is recorded in the debit authorization and adds the option to the form. If you also accept cards, your client can pay by card without answering; the question is only required when the debit is the only method.
- Micro-deposit verification. Some accounts are verified with a small deposit. The link then tells your client that within 1 to 2 business days they’ll receive that deposit and an email with instructions, with the Verify my account button. The payment completes once they confirm the account. Meanwhile, the invoice can’t be paid twice: if your client opens the link again, they see the verification link again.
- Automatic payments. When the account is authorized from the portal, the authorization says the debit is made on each invoice’s due date and on retries if a debit fails.
In the client portal
In the portal, the same question appears in the Pay selected sheet before Continue, and also when turning on automatic payments. If the account is verified with micro-deposits, the sheet hides the pay button and shows the same notice with Verify my account. The invoices in that payment stay in Payment processing until your client confirms the account or the verification expires: neither the portal nor each invoice’s link charges them again.
Bacs Direct Debit
- Saved when paying. A Bacs account can’t be registered for automatic payments without paying anything: your client saves it when paying an invoice from their portal, by ticking Save this method for automatic payments.
- Who appears as the collector. Your client’s bank statement and the scheme’s emails show the payment processor as the collector, not your business’s name. Let your client know so they recognize the debit.
- Disputes with no time limit. The account holder can dispute a debit with their bank at any time, even after a refund. If you refund a payment, let them know so they don’t receive it twice.
Automatic payments and retries
Your client can authorize their account in their portal so their invoices are collected when due. If a debit fails:
- It’s only retried for insufficient funds, within its scheme’s window and limit: two retries within 30 days for SEPA and Bacs, two within 40 days for ACH, and one within 30 days for pre-authorized debit.
- A revoked mandate turns the method off and isn’t retried. For Bacs, so does an account that changed owner.
- Your client gets an email with their portal and you get a task when collection stops.
Details in Automatic payments.
Refunds
A bank debit payment is refunded from the invoice detail, up to 180 days after the charge. SEPA, Bacs, and pre-authorized debit support partial refunds; ACH, full refunds only. The dialog tells you the deadline and what your client will see before you confirm.
See Refunds.
Limits
- Each scheme only in its currency and only for businesses in its country.
- Only on invoices, the portal, and automatic payments: not on quotes or retainers.
- Not offered where Cord charges a fee (today, in MXN).
- A Bacs account isn’t saved without paying.
Common problems
My client doesn’t see bank debit. The invoice isn’t in the scheme’s currency, the method is turned off in Settings › Payments › Payment methods, or the processor hasn’t activated it on your account yet.
My client in Canada doesn’t see the debit in the form. They haven’t answered whether they’re paying as a business or an individual yet: the option appears once they answer.
The invoice says a payment is in progress and my client wants to pay by card. You have to wait for the bank to confirm or reject the debit. If it’s a pre-authorized debit awaiting verification, your client has to finish the verification from the link on the invoice page.
My client doesn’t recognize a Bacs debit. The debit appears under the payment processor’s name, not your business’s. Confirm the amount and the invoice with them.