DebiCheck, registered mandate and EFT debit orders
How DebiCheck, registered mandate and EFT debit orders differ in South Africa: who holds the mandate, when each is collected and where disputes go.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in South Africa
A business that bills the same customers every month, such as a gym, a school, an internet provider or a security company, sooner or later asks its bank about debit orders. The bank's answer usually starts with a question back: which kind? South Africa has three, and they differ in who approves the mandate, who checks it, when the money is taken and how a customer disputes it.
Choosing the right one affects how often collections fail, how often customers dispute them, and how much paperwork the business has to keep. This guide sets out the three types as PASA describes them, and explains how recurring billing fits with Achekam, which does not run debit orders itself.
The three types
PASA says South Africa has three types of debit orders: DebiCheck, Registered Mandate and EFT debit orders. PASA's debit orders page explains each type, how it is authorised and what to do about unauthorised debits, and is the reference to share with staff who deal with customers' questions.
Where each mandate is held and who checks it
The biggest difference is the mandate, the customer's authority for the debit.
DebiCheck. PASA says a DebiCheck mandate is approved electronically by the consumer with their bank, once, at the start of the contract, and the bank will not allow a DebiCheck debit order to be processed outside the agreed terms. The customer confirms the amount and terms with their own bank before the first collection.
Registered Mandate. PASA says that Registered Mandate mandates, like DebiCheck ones, are stored at and checked by the consumer's bank.
EFT debit orders. PASA says an EFT debit order mandate is held by the service provider and is not validated by the consumer's bank.
| Type | Mandate held by | Checked by the consumer's bank |
|---|---|---|
| DebiCheck | Consumer's bank, approved electronically at the start | Yes |
| Registered Mandate | Consumer's bank | Yes |
| EFT debit order | The service provider | No |
For the business collecting, that difference shapes the risk. With an EFT debit order, the business holds the evidence that the customer agreed; if a customer says they never did, it is the business's paperwork that has to answer. With DebiCheck, the customer's own bank has recorded the approval and will not let a collection stray outside it.
When each type is collected
Timing differs too. PASA says DebiCheck collections run in the morning, straight after the credit run, while Registered Mandate and EFT debit orders are collected in the evening, with Registered Mandates given first priority.
For a customer whose salary arrives in the credit run, a morning DebiCheck collection follows the money in. Evening collections compete with everything else the customer has paid during the day. For a business whose customers live close to the edge each month, that difference is worth raising with the bank when choosing a type.
Disputes go to the consumer's bank
PASA says debit order abuse queries go to the consumer's bank, and unresolved queries may be referred to the Banking Ombudsman. A customer who disputes a debit does not start with the business that collected it; they start with their own bank. The business should therefore expect to be asked for its mandate evidence, especially for EFT debit orders, where it is the only party holding it. Keep each signed mandate where it can be found by customer name, together with the date it was given and any later change to the amount.
Achekam runs no debit orders and saves no cards
Achekam does not collect money by debit order. It never charges a business's customer automatically: there are no saved cards and no debit orders, and credit-control reminder e-mails carry no pay link. The same holds for the retainer billing Achekam offers accounting firms, where recurring fees from signed contracts are raised as invoices and are not collected by debit order or card.
What Achekam does offer is a payment link on an issued invoice. A business can create the link, copy it or e-mail it with the invoice, and the customer pays on a public page that shows the business's name and branding. That suits customers who prefer to pay each invoice themselves.
If your business does run debit orders through its bank, the collection happens outside Achekam. The billing side stays in your books: issuing an invoice in Achekam posts it to the ledger as debtors, sales and output VAT, and a customer payment can be recorded against one invoice or spread across a customer's invoices. Record each batch result that way, so that each successful collection settles the right invoice and each failed one leaves it open for follow-up. Recording debit order batch receipts shows one way of doing that, and memberships without debit orders looks at the alternative for businesses that would rather not collect this way.
Choosing a debit order type
Ask your bank, and yourself:
- How often do customers dispute collections? If disputes are common, a mandate checked by the customer's bank reduces arguments.
- Can customers approve a mandate electronically with their bank? DebiCheck depends on it.
- When are your customers paid? Collection timing matters for tight budgets.
- Who will keep mandate evidence? With EFT debit orders, the business must.
- How will collections be matched to invoices? Decide this before the first run.
Whatever type you choose, the collection is only half of the job. The other half is a clean match between what was collected and what was invoiced, and that is where month-end problems with debit orders often begin. Agree with your accountant, before the first run, how a batch result will be recorded and who checks that the totals agree with the bank statement.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
