Things to know about Debit Orders

In South Africa Debit orders are regulated by PASA (Payment Association of South Africa)

Most common Debit order currently used is a Non-Authenticated Debit orders. This will be replace by a more secure system within the next 12 Months called Debi Check.

For more details about Debi check please visit debicheck.co.za.

Paycycle currently only supports Non-Authenticated Debit orders, we have been Debi Check ready for a while, but due to a cost dispute and local banks not ready, we will switch as soon as the market is ready and Non-Authenticated Debit orders started to being phased out.

Important to know, that debit orders are not guarantee payments, the timeframe for dispute is open ended. You have a period of 40 (forty) days in which your bank will immediately credit your account and return the debit to the user (that is the person or beneficiary that debited your account).If you raise a dispute after 40 (forty) days, your bank will send a written request to the user’s bank to provide proof of the mandate (that is the agreement between yourself and the user). Should the user be unable to provide proof of the mandate to the satisfaction of his bank proof of the mandate within 30 (thirty) days the debit will be returned and your account will be credited. If however, the user provides his bank with proof of the mandate, you must settle the dispute directly with the user.

Legally one requires a signed Mandate (Authorisation) granting you the right to debit someone’s account, The mandate is a contract between two parties, confirming the details of how.

Important details about a mandate:

• The granting of a mandate to a user constitutes a formal agreement between you and the user to allow collections from your account, and you would be obliged to honour the agreement in terms of Common Law principles by either:
• Making funds available in your account to meet the obligation (you need to ensure when signing a mandate that it is for a date when there will normally be funds in the account); or
• Contacting the user / service provider to make alternative payment arrangements other than debit order; or
• Cancelling the arrangement if unable or unwilling to meet the obligation.
• When agreeing to such an arrangement you should further ensure that limitations are placed on the maximum value per collection and where an escalation clause (e.g. inflation increase on insurance premiums) exists that it is fully understood.

Paycycle has a E-mandate function build into the system ensuring you comply