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How to become a Direct Debit originator

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As Global Head of Content Marketing, Chris oversees all of the content requirements for our organic, growth marketing, and demand generation campaigns. This requires a fundamental understanding of the pain points our customers are experiencing and a thorough comprehension of the ways those customers consume and engage with content. A growth marketing expert in the tech space, Chris has worked with complex global businesses such as Google, AWS, Microsoft, SAP, Adobe, Dell and Oracle to grow their most valuable customers, increase revenue and speed up deal cycles. He has also led on customer lifecycle management programs and account-based marketing strategies for BlackRock, EY, Grant Thornton and UBS. ConnectSee full bio

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David and his team manage relationships with banks, scheme providers, and other parties involved in payment transactions in the UK and Scandinavia. David has worked in the finance and payment industry for over 12 years, primarily focusing on the BACs and Faster Payments schemes. He has sat on governance committees and chaired cross-government public sector working groups. David is also a regular attendee at the SIBOS and MoneyLIVE financial conferences. ConnectSee full bio

Last editedApr 20232 min read

You may wish to manage Direct Debit collection in-house or to have more control over the payments process and customer experience than a third party provider typically gives you. To do this you will need to be a Direct Debit Originator. This guide will walk you through becoming one.

What is a Direct Debit originator?

A Direct Debit originator is an organisation which has been authorised by a bank to submit payments directly to the Bacs. This means you can collect Direct Debit payments yourself – without needing a third party provider.

To become a Direct Debit originator and start collecting Direct Debit payments yourself you need to have a Service User Number (SUN). This guide explains what a Service User Number is and how to get one. Before reading this you may find it helpful to read our guide on the three options for getting access to Direct Debit.

What is a Service User Number?

A Service User Number is a unique reference which identifies organisations collecting payments by Direct Debit. You must have one to collect Direct Debit payments from your customers. It allows your customer’s bank to:

Find the name to display on your customer’s bank statement
Request refunds or make complaints
Find out details about the organisation collecting the payment

How to collect Direct Debit payments with GoCardless

1.

Create your free GoCardless account, access your user-friendly payments dashboard & connect your accounting software (if you use one).

2.

Easily set up & schedule Direct Debit payments via payment pages on your website checkout or secure payment links.

3.

From now on you'll get paid on time, every time, as GoCardless automatically collects payment on the scheduled date. Simple.

Get started in minutes Learn more

How do you get a Service User Number?

You can either get your own SUN or use a third party provider’s in one of three ways:

1. Via a bureau - A Direct Debit bureau can either set up an SUN for you or you can use their SUN to collect from your customers.

2. Via GoCardless - GoCardless either sets up an SUN for you or lets you use our master SUN to collect from your customers.

3. Via your preferred bank – This gets you your own SUN, rather than using a third party's. The application process is more difficult, and outlined below.

Want all the benefits of Direct Debit but without all the hassle & expense of dealing with banks?

GoCardless does all the heavy lifting for you so you can collect payments on time every time with just a few clicks!

Learn More

How to get an SUN from your Bank

1. Meet with your bank

Typically, banks will refuse your request unless you have revenues >£1m. (For some banks this can be £10m.)
The reason for this is that access is a large responsibility and takes a lot of work from the bank's end.
To find out more, you can talk to your relationship manager at the bank.

2. Submit a business plan

This should outline your business, metrics, and business case for using Direct Debit.
The outcome from here will be either a rejection or they will invite you in for further interviews.

3. Apply to the bank's credit and risk teams

This is detailed and will involve you going through lots of processes and explaining why you will be a safe and responsible user of the SUN.
The application will generally take 4-12 weeks.
If approved, you may be asked to be FCA regulated.
Finally, they will probably ask for personal guarantees and a bond of £50-500k.

Should I get my own Service User Number?

	Your own SUN	Your own SUN via GoCardless	Third Party SUN
Best suited to	Large corporates taking paper Direct Debits.	Large corporates taking 500+ payments a month.	Smaller businesses, and anyone looking to automate payments.
Set up time	Varies. 6 months through a bank 8 weeks through a bureau	Medium. 4 weeks through GoCardless	Short. Instant through GoCardless 4 weeks through a bureau
Setup costs	High. £15k a year through a bank £500 - £800 through a bureau	Low. Free through GoCardless	Low. Free through GoCardless £400 through a bureau
Setup requirements	Difficult. Banks may ask you to put down a large bond (c. £100k) with a bank, and provide evidence of a long trading history.	Simple. No bonds or trading history documentation is required.	Simple. GoCardless allows anyone to sign up. Bureaus have some stricter requirements.
Automation	Difficult. There are few off the shelf systems for automating and taking payments online. You are likely to have to build it yourself.	Easy. GoCardless Pro lets you automate the payment process while keeping the control over the customer experience you need.	Easy. You can use a provider's existing automated system. GoCardless is the expert in online, automated payments.
Cost per payment	Varies. Low: If you submit thousands of number of payments each month (c. 15p per payment). Mid: If you take less than 1,000 payments a month, it would be cheaper to use a third party.	Varies. See our pricing plans	Varies. Most providers charge 40p per payment, plus numerous additional charges. See our pricing plans
Admin time	High. Requires 1-3 employees, depending on the size of your business.	Low. A few hours each week or month.	Low. A few hours each week or month.
Expertise needed	High. You will need high levels of expertise in the Direct Debit scheme, with ongoing training.	None.	None.
Name on your customers' bank statements	Your own. Your business name only.	Your own. Your business name only.	Your provider's name. This will always appear. Some can also show your business name.

Once you have decided whether you want to get your own SUN or use a third party provider, our 60 Second Guide will help you work out which provider to use.