BECS Direct Debit in Australia

Enabling BECS allows supporters to provide information for their Australian bank accounts online and approve bank-to-bank direct debit transfers.

This article will walk you through the steps needed to enable BECS in Givetly, including the steps you’ll need to take in Stripe to ensure that transactions are processed and handled correctly. It will also give you an insight into the donor experience when giving via BECS in your Checkout form.

​

Overview

Please note that BECS will not appear for supporters outside of Australia or who wish to donate in a currency other than AUD.

​

Processing Fees

Payment processor fees on BECS donations are 1% + 0.30 AUD with a 3.50 AUD cap. The fee is 2.50 AUD for failures and disputes.

​

Step 1: Enable BECS in Stripe

In order for BECS to work in Givetly, it must first be enabled in Stripe.

1. Go to your Stripe dashboard.
2. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen and click Settings.
3. In the Payments section, select Payment methods.
4. Locate BECS Direct Debit and click Turn on.

​

Step 2: Disable Stripe’s BECS Emails

Stripe has a series of emails for account verification and payment confirmation, which are unnecessary if you’re using our BECS solution as we allow you to customize those emails from Givetly. To avoid sending two sets of emails, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Stripe dashboard.
2. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen and click Settings.
3. Scroll down to Business settings and, in the Your business block, click Emails.
4. In the Customer emails section, toggle off Send BECS Australia mandate and debit initiation emails.

​

Step 3: Enable BECS in Givetly

If your Givetly account is connected to an Australian Stripe account, follow these steps to enable BECS:

1. Go to the Givetly Dashboard.
2. Click your name in the top right, and choose Settings from the dropdown menu.
3. Click Payment methods in the left-hand menu.
4. Click on BECS (Australian Direct Debit).
5. Confirm the completion of preceding steps:
   • Enabled BECS within Stripe
   • Disabled Stripe’s default BECS emails
6. Click the Enable BECS button. Supporters with Australian bank accounts can now donate directly from those bank accounts in your Givetly Checkout forms.

​

Step 4: Review How Supporters Pay with BECS

When a supporter gets to the Payment Options screen of the Checkout form, they’ll see a Direct Debit button if their donation is 2 AUD or higher. Clicking the button allows them to provide their BSB Number and Account Number for direct debit payments.

​

BECS in the Virtual Terminal

The Checkout experience is mirrored in the Virtual Terminal; for donations made in AUD, you can select BECS Direct Debit as the payment method and provide the supporter’s BSB Number and Account Number to process their donation via BECS.

​

Step 5: Customize Confirmation and Verification Emails

When supporters make BECS donations, they will receive emails from Givetly. Customize these emails in your Givetly account, both centrally in the Emails section of your Dashboard Settings and per campaign in each campaign’s Emails tab.

• Supporters receive a mandatory “Bank Mandate” email containing their mandate details, with additional context from our email settings.
• The “Donation in progress” email is optional and configurable via the Email Templates section in the Dashboard Settings.

​

Receipt Delivery Timeframes

Supporters will receive “Receipt” email templates once their donation is marked as Successful, post the notification window for payment failures by Stripe.

• For new donations and first installments of new recurring plans, receipt delivery can take up to 4 business days.
• For subsequent installments of recurring plans, delivery can take up to 3 business days, as the initial authorization is complete.