Use these details to try payments in a GoCardless sandbox (test) account. They work only in the sandbox: never use them in live, and never put real card or bank details into a sandbox.
GoCardless is bank debit only, so there are no test cards: use the test bank accounts below for each scheme. Sandbox payments aren’t processed, but GoCardless may still send email notifications, so don’t use real customer email addresses.
The payment currency picks the scheme: GBP for Bacs, EUR for SEPA, USD for ACH, AUD for BECS, NZD for BECS NZ, SEK for Autogiro, DKK for Betalingsservice and CAD for PAD. The scheme must also be switched on in the GoCardless sandbox account.
The bank account doesn’t set the result: any of GoCardless’s test accounts is accepted (Test Bank Details).
The customer’s first name sets what happens to the mandate and payment (Scenario Simulators). Enter the name, for example Penniless, as the customer’s first name at the checkout. We send GoCardless the first and last names separately, so the last name can be anything. On an online payment, GoCardless’s payment page opens with the customer’s name filled in: if you change it there, keep the trigger as the first name.
Or simulate the outcome in the GoCardless sandbox dashboard, which GoCardless recommends: Developers > API Settings > Actions > Simulate scenario, with the payment or mandate ID (Scenario Simulators).
For the payer name check, the account holder name must be No Match (Scenario Simulators). On GoCardless’s payment page, enter it as the account holder name. For an offline mandate taken by staff (switch on Enable offline mandates in the GoCardless connection), we send the customer’s first and last name as the account holder name, so enter No as the first name and Match as the last name.
Enter one of these as the customer’s first name to set what happens to the mandate and payment. The last name can be anything.
First name
Result
Schemes
Successful
Mandate activated. Payment collected and paid out
All of the above
Penniless
Mandate activated. Payment fails (for example, insufficient funds)
All of the above
Fickle
Payment collected and paid out, then charged back
All of the above
Late
Payment fails, but the bank reports it later than normal
ACH, Bacs, BECS, BECS NZ and SEPA
Invalid
Mandate fails because the bank details are invalid
All of the above except SEPA
For SEPA, mandate events only happen when the first payment is taken. GoCardless lists more scenarios on its Scenario Simulators page.
GoCardless recommends its scenario simulator over first names, as it’s more reliable and covers more cases. In the GoCardless sandbox dashboard, go to Developers > API Settings, open the Actions menu and select Simulate scenario. Choose a scenario, enter the ID of the payment or mandate, and select Simulate scenario.