Customer direct debits

When a vendor has an agreement with a customer to collect payments automatically, the vendor sends a payment request message to the vendor's bank. The vendor's bank is prompted to collect the customer payment by requesting money from the customer's bank. Typically, the communication between the vendor and the bank is electronic.

A remittance advice, manual or electronic, is sent by a vendor to the customer to indicate which invoices are being paid. Typically, they include invoice numbers and invoice amounts.

United Kingdom specifics

Electronic customer payments are supported by Bankers' Automated Clearing Services (BACS) and the Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS). Direct debiting, with or without customer agreements, is also supported.

You must use the Automated Direct Debit Instruction Service (AUDDIS) for new direct debit instructions when submitting direct debit messages to BACS.

This is a manual activity that must be in place before the electronic message can be deployed. A contra record is created after every detail record in the message.