BACS (Bankers' Automated Clearing Services) is a UK direct debit scheme that lets merchants collect GBP-denominated recurring payments directly from customers' bank accounts. Recurly supports BACS via GoCardless, Stripe, and Adyen.

Available on all Recurly plans

1Definition 2Key details 3Checkout flow

Prerequisites

A supported BACS gateway: GoCardless, Stripe (via Third Party Checkout), or Adyen.

Limitations

100% coupons during signup are not supported — billing agreement creation is required for this payment method. Use a free trial instead where supported. Standard coupons are supported.

Definition

BACS Direct Debit is the UK's bank-to-bank payment scheme for collecting recurring payments in GBP. It allows merchants to debit customers' bank accounts directly, making it well-suited for subscription billing. Recurly integrates BACS through GoCardless, Stripe (Third Party Checkout), and Adyen.

Tip See the How to test your gateway guide to verify your setup before going live.

Key details

Use cases

Recurring subscriptions — Use BACS Direct Debit for subscription billing and recurring collections in GBP across the UK.

International direct debit — GoCardless supports multiple global direct debit schemes beyond BACS, making it straightforward to expand direct debit collections internationally from the same integration.

Checkout flow

Collect the customer's full name and UK bank account details (sort code and account number) during checkout to set up a BACS Direct Debit mandate. For specific address requirements per payment method, consult your gateway's documentation.