Australian businesses can use BECS (Bulk Electronic Clearing System) Direct Debit to collect payments from customers' bank accounts with Opus1.io.
Understanding BECS Direct Debit Payments in Australia
Australian businesses can use BECS (Bulk Electronic Clearing System) Direct Debit to collect payments from customers' bank accounts with Opus1.io. Stripe facilitates this process, making it easy to integrate BECS Direct Debit into your payment system.
Opus1.io strongly recommends reading Stripe's documentation on BECS Direct Debit prior to enabling this payment method on your Opus1.io account. You can find Stripe's BECS Direct Debit documentation here: https://docs.stripe.com/payments/au-becs-debit
The BECS scheme advises that you notify your customer when a mandate is established and each time you debit their account. By default, Stripe automatically notifies the customer when mandates are added and when debits occur, therefore Opus1.io relies on Stripe to send these notifications.
Key Features of BECS Payments
- Reusable Payment Method: BECS Direct Debit can be used for recurring payments.
- Delayed Notification: Payment status updates can take up to three business days. Opus1.io relies on Stripe for payment notification requirements.
- Transaction Limits: Default limits are 1,500 AUD per transaction and 4,500 AUD per week. Contact Stripe support to increase these limits.
- Country Availability: Available only in Australia.
- Currency: Transactions are conducted in AUD.
- Refunds: Available and can be processed for partial amounts.
- No self-booking: BECS payments cannot be used for self-booking with Opus1.io.
Adding a BECS Payment Method:
- Customer logs into their Opus1.io account and clicks the credit card icon to add a BECS payment method. This action collects the required mandate to process bank transfer payments. They can then make this their default payment method for automatic payments.
Verification Requirements: To use BECS Direct Debit, businesses must complete identity verification steps. Stripe prompts users to complete these steps upon requesting access through the Payment Methods settings.
Dispute Process: Customers can dispute a BECS Direct Debit payment for up to seven years. All disputes are final and cannot be appealed. Stripe automatically deducts the disputed amount and associated fees from your account balance.
Mandates: Businesses must collect mandates authorizing debits. Customers can cancel these mandates at any time, invalidating future debit requests. New mandates are required for additional payments.
Refunds: Refunds must be issued within 90 days of the original payment. They typically take 3-5 business days to process and are reflected as credits on the customer's bank account statement.
Statement Descriptors: BECS Direct Debit payments show the merchant's name and a unique lodgement reference on customer bank statements. Businesses can customize these descriptors for each transaction.
Helpful Links:
For more detailed information, refer to the Stripe BECS Direct Debit Documentation.