Visit any whirlpool forum and you will find 100′s of complaints regarding direct debit.  Given this, I’ll pose a question, is direct debit really that bad? Or is it the use of these facilities by the merchant that is at fault?  Is it a case of bill payers just not meeting their obligations?

Firstly, we should point out that direct debit is a growing billing method throughout Australia.  APCA’s historical figures indicate a 10% year on year growth in transaction volumes for the past decade.  So why are businesses continuing to look to direct debit as a favoured billing channel?  The answer is it’s cost.  Direct debit is an inexpensive and, in most cases, automated billing solution.  It is also a secure and proven billing channel used across multiple industries.

As well as these advantages, direct debit also provides an end point in the billing cycle.  Many billers issue an invoice and see a payment due date come and go without receiving payment.  This generally requires them to follow-up by issuing a payment reminder or a collection order to recover their fees.

With direct debit, a payment date comes and results in one of two events, the funds are paid

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