Connecting GoCardless

Connecting to GoCardless is an OAuth process. It requires you to log into GoCardless, which then shares a security token with us. To complete this you need a GoCardless login with administrator access on your GoCardless account.

1. When prompted, select Connect GoCardless to log in to your GoCardless account.

   

2. If you have not recently been logged into GoCardless you will be prompted with a login screen. Log in as an administrator of the account.

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   Tip

   On the GoCardless authorization screen, the application requesting access appears as "Payments".

   

3. After login you are returned to a configuration screen. The connection is tested and you are shown a green "Connected to GoCardless" message. If there is an error with the connection, check the account details are correct and that the user has been granted all permissions.

   

Connection options

Our integration with GoCardless offers several options:

• Enable Refunds: If you have this feature enabled on your GoCardless account, check this box to be able to use refunds. See Refunding payments in the GoCardless support centre.
• Enable Custom References: If you have this feature enabled on your GoCardless account, check this box to use custom references. The transaction.reference (for example REF-00010012) is mapped into the GoCardless reference field. See Custom payment references.
• Enable Instant Bank Pay: If you have this feature enabled on your GoCardless account, check this box to use it — see Instant Bank Pay below.
• Use Bank Reason Code as Decline Authorisation: When a transaction is declined, by default a user-friendly GoCardless interpretation of the decline reason is returned in the authorization field of the transaction. Select this checkbox to instead return the underlying scheme decline reason code (for example Bacs ARUDD0, ACH R01).
• Retry Failed Transactions: GoCardless does not follow the same retry processing as other gateways, due to nuances in how it works. There are three options:
  • Disable: No automated retries.
  • Enabled: Automated retries, as soon as possible (typically 3 days to process). You can choose which declined transactions get retried — from Insufficient Funds and Refer to Payer — and set the number of retries (between 1 and 3).
  • Success+: If you have this feature enabled on your GoCardless account, GoCardless runs an optimised retry process based on its own data (for example aligning retries with pay days).

Instant Bank Pay

Instant Bank Pay and Direct Debit serve different purposes. Instant Bank Pay is a single, pay-now bank transfer that confirms payment immediately at the point of checkout: the customer authorises a one-off push payment from their bank, giving you real-time confirmation that funds have been approved. Direct Debit, by contrast, is a mandate-based method designed for future payments, allowing you to collect money later, on a schedule, or on demand, with settlement occurring over standard bank clearing times.

Used together, Instant Bank Pay handles the "right now" payment while Direct Debit handles ongoing payments. The Instant Bank Pay flow can also capture and verify the customer's bank details and set up a Direct Debit mandate at the same time. This gives you immediate payment confirmation up front, plus confidence that the bank details and mandate are valid for future scheduled or recurring collections, without requiring the customer to complete two separate setup journeys.

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Availability

Instant Bank Pay is available for Bacs (UK) and SEPA (EU) only.

Enabling Instant Bank Pay presents a fallback option:

• IBP Fallback behaviour:
  • Fallback to mandate-only: If a customer cannot complete Instant Bank Pay, they can still complete a Direct Debit mandate and process payment via Direct Debit.
  • Fail transaction if IBP unavailable: If a customer cannot complete Instant Bank Pay, they cannot fall back to Direct Debit and the transaction fails.