A Standing Order is an instruction from a customer to their bank to pay a fixed amount to you on a regular basis. If you wish to change the amount, frequency or payment date, you would be required to contact your customer and request that they contact their bank to make the necessary changes. In the meantime your customer may well be building up arrears which would then require further adjustments to their payments.

Futhermore, when a Standing Order bounces or is cancelled, it can take well over a month before you become aware of the fact, and you have then to chase the missed payments or, if cancelled, convince your customer to set up a new Standing Order.

A Direct Debit is an instruction from a customer to their bank that authorises you to collect money from their account. With a Direct Debit, when the payment amount, frequency or payment date changes, you can claim the new amount on the date of your choosing, as long as you have informed the customer in advance.

Furthermore, when a Direct Debit bounces or is cancelled, you are informed by email within 24 hours of the event. You can then deal with it professionally and efficiently. As long as you inform your customer in writing, a bounced Direct Debit can be recharged within days and a cancelled Direct Debit can be reinstated without any action required of your customer other than ensuring adequate covering funds in their bank account.

Over 80% of adults in the UK have at least one Direct Debit payment and it is used by over 100,000 businesses and organisations so you can be sure it is well understood and accepted as a valid, secure and reliable form of payment.