Yes - there isn't much consistency around this. Failed transaction costs are really down to each individual bank.
We really hate this practice, and don't feel there is any legitimate justification for it. One of the many reasons we are strong believers in disruptions to the banking industry.
We'd love to speed up the Direct Debit system - unfortunately that isn't likely though. That is why we focus on recurring payments, where merchants are able to time the payments in advance.
If Faster Payments opens up, we are well placed to adopt it.. It's on the banks & regulators to open it up though (current access is closed). Watch this space!
The 2x implementation time was an loose estimate. However, we found that thinking through all of the edge cases, and getting it to work well significantly impacted speed.
In terms of growth in mobile traffic, I have no doubt you are right. However, considering the lifetime of the design - I would be surprised if this number changes significantly before we do another redesign!
We have found that conversion can be just as good, if not better than cards in the right cases. The biggest factor that affects this is transaction type.
We see really great conversion for repeat billing where Direct Debit is already a well known method of payment. Conversion is not as good for one-off payments where DD is less expected though.
You can pass in information to display on the checkout pages. We can definitely help you with any kind of variable billing. You can come and chat with us at:
1. We pay out on a 7 days after a transaction is initiated.
2. Faster payments is the new standard for payments initiated from within a bank account (e.g., via online banking). Direct Debit is still the standard for "pull" based payments.
3. Keep an eye out. We have some big announcements coming up.
What shows on the bank statement?
- GoCardless shows up on the bank statement
Is collective payment taken once a month or on a per transaction?
- We take a payment for each transaction. This makes it clearer for payers and merchants get their money quicker.
This is a common misconception about direct debits. Direct debits can be used to charge people varying amounts at varying frequencies (including one-offs).
Something that confuses me is that FaceCash seem to be the only company that is (outwardly) complaining/worrying about this.
Presumably this regulation will affect all of the other payments companies in this space. (e.g., WePay, Venmo, Dwolla etc). It would be interesting to hear their thoughts on this.
We really hate this practice, and don't feel there is any legitimate justification for it. One of the many reasons we are strong believers in disruptions to the banking industry.