Bank debit: SEPA, ACH, Bacs and Canadian pre-authorized debit
This feature is new and may not be enabled on your account yet. If you don’t see it, write to us.
Besides card, your clients can pay with a direct debit from their bank account. Each country has its own scheme: SEPA Direct Debit in euros if your business is in Spain, Germany or France; ACH bank debit in dollars if it is in the United States; Bacs Direct Debit in pounds if it is in the United Kingdom, and pre-authorized debit in Canadian dollars if it is in Canada. It serves clients who prefer paying from their bank and automatic payments, but it takes days to confirm.
In short:
| SEPA Direct Debit | ACH bank debit | Bacs Direct Debit | Pre-authorized debit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your business in | Spain, Germany, 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 bank account | 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 |
| Account holder disputes | For 8 weeks, without giving a reason | Can dispute the debit with their bank | At any time, with no time limit, even after a refund | 90 days on a personal account, 10 business days on a business account |
| Refunds | Full or partial | Full only | Full or partial | Full or partial |
| Retries for insufficient funds | 2 within 30 days | 2 within 40 days | 2 within 30 days | 1 within 30 days |
| Save it for automatic payments without paying | Yes | Yes | No: it is saved when paying an invoice | Yes |
- Where it is offered: on each invoice’s link, in the client portal and in automatic payments, only on invoices in the method’s currency. It is not offered on the quote link or on retainers.
- Turn it on: under Settings › Payments › Payment methods, turn on your country’s switch: SEPA Direct Debit, ACH bank debit, Bacs Direct Debit or Pre-authorized debit (Canada). You need an active Cord Payments account.
- Cord’s cost: outside Mexican pesos Cord charges no transaction fee of its own.
It is not the same as bank transfer with a reference, also new: there your client sends a transfer themselves to an account Cord shows them; here your client authorizes you to debit them.
Turn it on
- Open Settings › Payments › Payment methods with the Payment settings permission.
- Turn on your country’s switch: SEPA Direct Debit (Spain, Germany or France), ACH bank debit (United States), Bacs Direct Debit (United Kingdom) or Pre-authorized debit (Canada). Only your country’s switch appears.
- Cord requests the method for your payments account, and the label next to the name shows its status.
- It is only offered to your clients once the payment processor activates the method on your account. While the processor reviews it, your clients keep paying by card.
What your client sees
On the invoice link or in their portal, your client chooses to pay from their bank account, enters their account details and accepts the mandate that authorizes you to debit them. Cord stores only the type, the bank and the last four digits, never the full account.
Your client receives the scheme’s notices by email (the mandate confirmation and the notice of each debit), which is why Cord needs their email on their profile. Also, depending on the scheme:
- Bacs Direct Debit: your client’s bank statement and the scheme’s emails show the payment processor as the collector, not your business. The mandate and debit notices are sent by the payment processor to the billing email your client enters in the payment form.
- Pre-authorized debit (Canada): before the payment form, your client answers Paying from your bank account? with Yes, as a business or Yes, as an individual, and their answer adds the debit to the form. It is optional unless it is the only method. For automatic payments, the mandate states that it is charged on each invoice’s due date.
- Account to verify: some accounts need to be confirmed with a small deposit, for example with pre-authorized debit. The page tells your client “Your bank account still needs to be verified. Within 1 to 2 business days you’ll receive a small verification deposit and an email with instructions; the payment completes once you confirm it.” with the Verify my account button. Meanwhile the invoice cannot be paid twice; if they reopen it, they see the link again.
While the debit is processing
A debit does not confirm instantly:
- The invoice shows that a bank debit is processing: it cannot be charged again or voided until it is confirmed or fails.
- The invoice link and the portal tell your client (“Payment processing”) so they do not pay twice.
- Once confirmed, the payment is applied to the invoice like any other. If it fails, the invoice stays open with its balance and, in automatic payments, the retry policy applies.
Disputes and refunds
- SEPA: the account holder can ask their bank to return a debit for 8 weeks without giving a reason. If they do, the amount is deducted from you: contact your client to sort it out.
- ACH: only supports full refunds. To return part of it, agree another method with your client.
- Bacs: the account holder can dispute a debit with their bank at any time, even after you refund it. The refund takes 3 to 4 business days: let your client know you’re returning it so they don’t receive it twice.
- Pre-authorized debit: the account holder can dispute the debit for 90 days on a personal account or 10 business days on a business account. The refund takes about 3 business days, can’t be cancelled and reaches their account as a credit that does not say “refund”: let them know.
- A refund you start is made from the detail page of the invoice the charge paid, with the Refund button next to the payment. A debit still in progress can’t be refunded until it’s confirmed, and all four allow a refund up to 180 days after the charge. See Issue refunds.
If a debit fails
A debit is only retried for insufficient funds: at most twice within 30 days (SEPA and Bacs) or 40 days (ACH) of the first attempt, and only once within 30 days for pre-authorized debit. Any other decline (closed account, mandate withdrawn) is resolved by your client with their bank or with another method.
Common issues
- I do not see the switch. Your business is not in Spain, Germany, France, the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada, or you do not have the Payment settings permission.
- The label says the method is unavailable. Your payments account is missing a verification requirement. Check Settings › Payments › Account.
- My client does not see the option. The invoice is not in the method’s currency (EUR for SEPA, USD for ACH, GBP for Bacs, CAD for pre-authorized debit), the payment processor has not activated the method on your account yet, or it is a quote link.
- My client cannot save their Bacs account for automatic payments. Bacs is not saved without paying: your client saves it when paying an invoice in their portal by ticking Save this method for automatic payments.