DEBIT ORDERS

Debit Orders
Understanding debit orders

South Africa has three types of debit orders: DebiCheck, Registered Mandate (RM) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

DebiCheck debit orders are electronically approved by the consumer with their bank, on a once-off basis, at the start of a new contract which has been signed with a business or service provider.

DebiCheck ensures that the consumer is in control of and aware of debit orders being processed to their bank account. Additionally, it provides the business or service provider that the consumer is dealing with, with the comfort of knowing that the consumer has acknowledged and is aware of these debit orders.

DebiCheck allows the consumer’s bank to capture the debit order information by checking the information before the debit order is processed. The bank will know the details of what the consumer has agreed to with the service provider or business and will not allow a DebiCheck debit order to be processed outside the terms that have been agreed to by the consumer.

DebiCheck gives consumers the comfort of knowing that DebiCheck debit orders must be processed within the conditions that have been agreed to.

Registered Mandate and EFT debit orders are a type of debit order where a consumer grants permission to a service provider to debit their bank account via a mandate, either in writing, by voice or electronically. The service provider issues the debit order payment instructions to the consumer’s bank to debit the consumer’s bank account. However, the debit order is not confirmed with the consumer’s bank as with DebiCheck (see other details about debit order approval in the ‘commonly used terms’ table below).

	DebiCheck	Registered Mandate	EFT Debit Orders
Mandate format	Electronic	Electronic	Paper, voice, or electronic via form completed online
Where the mandate is stored	Consumer’s bank	Consumer’s bank	Service provider
Mandate electronically approved/authorised by the consumer	Yes, the mandate is authorised by the consumer via their consumer’s bank	No, the consumer acknowledges the mandate directly with the service provider	No, the consumer acknowledges the mandate directly with the service provider
Notification of mandate to the consumer	Yes, the consumer is notified by their bank for certain amendments to the mandate that do not require the consumer to authorise	Yes, the consumer is notified by their bank that a mandate has been registered	No, the consumer is not notified in respect of EFT mandates
The consumer’s bank validates the specific collection against the mandate parameters they have on record	Yes	Yes	No
When does collection take place?	In the morning, immediately after the credit processing run (often after the salary run)	In the evening (First priority)	In the evening (Second priority)
Does the consumer’s bank have visibility of the debit order mandate, and is this available to the consumer?	Yes	Yes	No

Commonly used debit order terms

Consumer / Debit order payer / Payer

The person whose account will be debited by a bank, when a contract is agreed with a third party.

Service provider / Debit order collector / Collector

A business that has an agreement with a consumer to collect money in exchange for products or services provided to the consumer.

Debit order mandate

An agreement between a consumer and service provider which allows the service provider or business to debit the consumer’s bank account and specifies the date, frequency, amount, and any other parameters / conditions related to the funds which may be deducted.

Approve / Authenticate / Authorise

To approve / authenticate / authorise a debit order means to confirm its details on an electronic device such as a cellphone, banking app, personal computer or ATM. Your bank will advise which options are available.

How to honour your debit orders

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1. Check your bank statement to review the debit orders that are deducted from your account.

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2. Check whether you’ve given permission to the company who is deducting money from your account. If yes, then honour the debit order.

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3. If you don’t know who the company deducting money from your account is, then query this with your bank.

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4. Next, approach the company or business that is debiting your bank account to check whether you gave them permission. If you don’t know which company has debited your bank account, contact your bank to get the company’s details.

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5. If you have given permission, then honour it. If you didn’t, dispute it and report it.

Debit order frequently asked questions
DebiCheck FAQ >

Where can consumers file queries?

Queries related to debit order abuse should be referred to the consumer’s bank.
Unresolved debit order queries may be referred to the Banking Ombudsman (https://www.obssa.co.za/resolving-complaints/how-to-complain/).

Visit the DebiCheck website for more information.

Newsletter

DebiCheck Recognition Rewards 2022

Pasa recently hosted our DebiCheck virtual recognition ceremony where we acknowledged the effort and dedication that helped set the DebiCheck project in motion.

Resources
Media/documents/conferences