Product Overview of GoCardless
GoCardless is a global payment processing platform that specializes in facilitating direct debit solutions for businesses, enabling them to collect payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts. Here’s a detailed look at what the product does and its key features:
What GoCardless Does
GoCardless provides an alternative to traditional payment methods such as credit and debit cards, and digital wallets. It allows businesses to automate the collection of recurring and one-off payments through a direct bank-to-bank payment system. This approach bypasses the high fees, slow networks, and high failure rates associated with card payments.
Key Features and Functionality
Direct Debit Payments
GoCardless uses Direct Debit, a bank-to-bank payment method, to collect payments directly from customers’ bank accounts. This method is simple, efficient, and can be used for both recurring and one-off payments of varying amounts.
Instant Bank Pay
Powered by open banking, GoCardless’s Instant Bank Pay allows merchants to request payments via email or a shared link. Customers authorize the payment, and the merchant receives immediate confirmation. This feature simplifies the process of collecting ad hoc payments and regular invoices.
Automated Payment Collection and Reconciliation
GoCardless automates the payment collection process, reducing manual administrative tasks and improving cash flow. The platform integrates with over 350 software packages, including accounting and billing software like Xero, QuickBooks, and Zuora, making it easy to manage payments alongside other business processes.
Fraud Prevention and Chargeback Protection
GoCardless Protect helps merchants avoid fraud by preventing costly chargebacks. It utilizes a decade’s worth of payment data, KYC capabilities, and machine learning to detect and adapt to new fraudulent behaviors and trends.
International Payments
GoCardless supports payments from over 30 countries, allowing businesses to collect payments into either a local bank account or an existing UK account, with foreign exchange handled at real market rates.
Payment Retries and Recovery
The platform intelligently retries failed payments, determining the best day to attempt the payment again. This feature recovers an average of 70% of failed payments.
Security and Compliance
GoCardless is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority and is ISO27001 certified. Payments are protected under the Direct Debit Guarantee, ensuring a secure payment experience for both businesses and their customers.
Integration and Setup
GoCardless offers easy setup through its merchant dashboard, API, or pre-built integrations with various software. This makes it straightforward for businesses to start accepting direct debit payments quickly.
Conclusion
In summary, GoCardless is a robust payment processing solution that offers businesses a cost-effective, efficient, and secure way to collect payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts, both domestically and internationally. Its automation features, fraud prevention measures, and seamless integrations make it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.