Bank debits allow you to pull funds directly from your client's bank account for one-time or recurring payments. They’re commonly used for recurring billing or larger transactions where lower fees are important.
Because bank debits can take several business days to confirm, they may not be ideal if you need to deliver services immediately.
⚠️ Bank Debits for Practice Better Payments is currently in an Early Access Program and is not yet available for all users.
The bank debits supported through Practice Better Payments include ACH Direct Debit (ACH), Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD), SEPA Direct Debit, Bacs Direct Debit (UK), BECS Direct Debit Australia, BECS Direct Debit New Zealand.
Review the parent article for an overview and links to each respective payment method article.
In this article:
- Bacs Direct Debit
- Bacs Direct Debit Processing Fees
- Timing of Bacs Direct Debit Payouts (deposits)
- Bacs Direct Debit Identity Requirements
- Storing Bacs Direct Debit
- Bacs Direct Debit Notifications
- Bacs Direct Debit Mandates
- Cancelling a Bacs Direct Debit Mandate
- Disputed Bacs Direct Debit
- Refunding Bacs Direct Debit
- Disabling Bacs Direct Debit
- Re-enabling Bacs Direct Debit
Bacs Direct Debit
Bacs Direct Debit enables Practice Better practitioners in the UK to process bank debits from clients with a UK bank account.
Bacs Direct Debit payments are best for large or recurring charges to lower transaction costs and capture more revenue by enabling a preferred and familiar payment method.
Bacs stands for Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services and is a UK-based electronic payment system used for bank-to-bank transfers in the UK.
Bacs Direct Debit Processing Fees
| Per transaction fee | 1% |
| Per transaction min fee | £0.20 |
| Transaction fee cap | £4.00 |
| Dispute fee | £5.00 |
| International transaction fee | NA |
| Currency conversion | 2% |
Timing of Bacs Direct Debit Payouts (deposits)
Standard payouts from Bacs Direct Debit transactions will be deposited into your business bank account 7 business days from the initial transaction date.
Here’s a visual representation of how settlements work for Bacs Direct Debit transactions:
| T+0 | T+3 | T+5 | T+7 |
| Payment Initiated, Mandate submitted | Mandate is active and the payment is submitted | Funds leave your client’s bank account |
Settlement (funds available)
|
T = Transaction date
+# = Business days since transaction date
💡 You can view all your payouts from the Payments & Disputes section of your Practice Better Payments Dashboard or through the Stripe dashboard.
Bacs Direct Debit Identity Requirements
To accept Bacs Direct Debit payments, Stripe may require additional information about your business. Check the status of your Practice Better Payments account in the Payments Dashboard and log in to the Stripe Dashboard to ensure all required information has been provided to ensure you can process Bacs Direct Debit transactions successfully.
Storing Bacs Direct Debit
There are three ways to securely store your clients’ Bacs Direct Debit details for future payments:
Method 1: Require billing information at booking:
- Edit Service > Advanced Options > Require billing information when clients book this service/package.
Method 2: Opt to save billing information for future payments on invoices:
- Invoice Editor > Payment Options > Save billing information for future payments.
Method 3: Ask your clients to enter their banking details in the Client Portal.
- Client Portal > Invoices & Billing > Billing Information.
Bacs Direct Debit Notifications
Bacs Direct Debit rules require you to notify your clients when payment details are initially collected and confirmed, and each time a debit will be made on their account. By default, Stripe automatically sends these emails to your clients on your behalf.
Bacs Direct Debit Mandates
Before you can take payments directly from a client’s bank account using Bacs, you need their permission. This permission is called a mandate, and for Bacs it is called a Direct Debit Instruction, or DDI, and it explains the terms of the payment.
When you process Bacs Direct Debit payments through Practice Better Payments, your clients will automatically be shown the required mandate or DDI during checkout. This appears only the first time they add their bank account. Clients must review and accept the mandate before completing their payment using this method.
Your clients can cancel their Bacs Direct Debit mandate at any time by contacting either you or their bank. Once a mandate is cancelled, any future debit requests associated with it will no longer be valid. To resume accepting Bacs Direct Debit payments from that client, a new mandate must be established. See Cancelling a Bacs for step-by-step instructions.
Cancelling a Bacs Direct Debit Mandate
If your client contacts you to request you cancel their existing Bacs Direct Debit Mandate or DDI, confirm their name and mandate reference number, and then follow these steps:
- Log in to Practice Better.
- Click on your Settings (gear icon) and select Payments Dashboard.
- Click View in Stripe near the top-right.
- In Stripe, go to Customers.
- Search for the client’s name.
- Delete the existing Bacs Direct Debit payment method linked to that client.
Disputed Bacs Direct Debit
Your clients can dispute a Bacs Direct Debit payment for an unlimited amount of time.
When a dispute occurs, the disputed amount and a dispute fee will be deducted from your Practice Better Payments account balance.
Unlike credit card payments, Bacs Direct Debit disputes cannot be appealed through Stripe. To resolve the issue, you’ll need to contact your client directly.
After a dispute, check the status of the client’s Bacs Direct Debit mandate to confirm it has been cancelled. If the client wishes to continue working with you and paying by Bacs Direct Debit, you’ll need to collect a new mandate. See Cancelling a Bacs Direct Debit Mandate for detailed instructions.
Refunding Bacs Direct Debit
You can issue full or partial refunds for Bacs Direct Debit payments within 180 days of the original payment date.
Key details:
- Refunds are free of charge, but processing fees from the original payment are non-refundable.
- Refunds typically take 3–4 business days to process, and funds usually reach your client’s account within 5 business days.
Important Considerations
- If you accidentally debit a customer, contact them immediately to prevent a potential payment dispute.
- Refunds are not part of the Bacs Direct Debit scheme. They are issued outside of Bacs by Stripe.
- Because Bacs Direct Debit includes an indefinite indemnity period, clients can dispute a payment at any time — even after a refund has been issued. In this case, you could lose both the disputed amount and the refunded amount.
- To reduce the risk of confusion or duplicate credits, only issue a refund when:
- The customer is trusted and verified
- You’ve confirmed with the customer that you’re processing the refund
- At least 7 business days have passed since the original payment
Disabling Bacs Direct Debit
f you do not wish to accept Bacs Direct Debit transactions, you can disable this payment method by following these instructions:
- Log in to Practice Better.
- Click on your Settings (gear icon) and select Payments Dashboard.
- Click View in Stripe near the top-right.
- After successfully logging in to Stripe, click the Settings (gear icon).
- Select Payments from your Settings page.
- Go to the Payment methods tab.
- Locate the payment method (ie. Bank debit) in your list and click on it to expand the payment method panel.
- Click Turn off on the payment method you no longer want to accept.
Re-enabling Bacs Direct Debit
If you have disabled Bacs Direct Debit Payments and need to re-enable this, follow steps 1-7 above, and click the button to Turn on your desired payment method.