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Collections guide

Debit Order vs DebiCheck
vs Registered Mandate

Three ways to collect recurring payments in South Africa. Here’s how they compare, and when to use each one.

Side-by-side comparison

The key differences between EFT Debit Orders, DebiCheck and Registered Mandates.
Comparison of DebiCheck, EFT Debit Orders and Registered Mandates
Feature
DebiCheck
Customer-authenticated collections
EFT Debit Order
Traditional, lowest-cost collections
Registered Mandate
Bank-registered, no approval step
Eligible accounts
Individuals only

Personal accounts. Business and corporate accounts can’t be collected from using DebiCheck.

Individuals and businesses

Personal accounts and juristic entities (business and corporate accounts).

Individuals and businesses

Personal accounts and juristic entities (business and corporate accounts).

Authorisation
Customer approves with their bank

The customer approves the mandate in their banking app, via a push notification, USSD, or card and PIN at a POS terminal.

Paper, electronic or voice mandate

The mandate is signed or recorded with you. The customer’s bank isn’t involved in approving it.

Bank notifies the customer

The mandate is registered against the customer’s account, and their bank notifies them. No approval step is needed.

Collection window
Early morning

Processed early in the day, typically right after salaries land, before the customer spends.

At night

Processed in the overnight batch, after the day’s other debits.

Afternoon

Processed in the afternoon processing window.

Tracking
Yes, up to 10 days

If funds aren’t available, the bank keeps retrying the collection for up to 10 days.

No

One attempt. If there are insufficient funds, the collection fails and you need to resubmit.

Yes, up to 10 days

If funds aren’t available, the bank keeps retrying the collection for up to 10 days.

Disputes
Not disputable within mandate terms

If the amount and debit date fall within what the customer approved, the collection can’t be reversed.

Disputable within 60 days

If the customer disputes a collection within 60 days, the bank reverses it automatically.

Disputable within 60 days

If the customer disputes a collection within 60 days, the bank reverses it automatically.

Pricing
Relatively affordable

A fee per collection, plus mandate fees when a mandate is set up, updated or stopped.

Most affordable

A fee per collection only. There are no mandate fees, because you hold the mandate yourself.

Cheaper than DebiCheck

A fee per collection, plus mandate fees when a mandate is set up, updated or stopped.

Retained deposit
Not required

Settlements are paid out in full.

At least 10% of monthly collections

A deposit is held back to cover reversals and disputes.

Not required

Settlements are paid out in full.

Best suited for
Higher-risk or high-value collections

Loans, insurance, and contracts where disputes and failed collections are expensive.

Reliable, low-risk payers

Long-standing customers, low-value subscriptions, and business accounts.

Business and frictionless onboarding

Business accounts, or when you want tracking without asking the customer to approve anything.

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How pricing works

Every method charges per collection. DebiCheck and Registered Mandates also charge a small fee at key moments in a mandate’s life, because the customer’s bank does work each time — plus a daily fee while the bank tracks an unpaid collection. With an EFT Debit Order you hold the mandate yourself and there’s no tracking, so there are no mandate or tracking fees.
  1. Step 1

    Set up the mandate

    The mandate is sent to the customer’s bank. A fee applies whether it’s approved or rejected, because the bank processes the request either way.

    • DebiCheck Fee
    • EFT Debit Order No fee
    • Registered Mandate Fee
  2. Step 2

    Track the account

    If there isn’t enough money on the collection date, the bank monitors the customer’s account for funds for up to 10 days. You’re charged for each day it tracks while the payment is unpaid.

    • DebiCheck Fee
    • EFT Debit Order N/A
    • Registered Mandate Fee
  3. Step 3

    Collect each payment

    A fee for every debit from the customer’s account. Failed collections are charged separately.

    • DebiCheck Fee
    • EFT Debit Order Fee
    • Registered Mandate Fee
  4. Step 4

    Handle disputes

    If a customer disputes a collection, a dispute fee applies. EFT and Registered Mandate disputes within 60 days are reversed automatically. DebiCheck collections within the approved terms can’t be disputed, so these are rare.

    • DebiCheck Fee
    • EFT Debit Order Fee
    • Registered Mandate Fee
  5. Step 5

    Update the mandate

    When the amount, collection date or other terms change, the bank updates the registered mandate. With DebiCheck, the customer approves the change again.

    • DebiCheck Fee
    • EFT Debit Order No fee
    • Registered Mandate Fee
  6. Step 6

    Stop or cancel

    When you stop a payment or cancel the mandate, the bank is notified so no further debits go through.

    • DebiCheck Fee
    • EFT Debit Order No fee
    • Registered Mandate Fee
Example: a 12-month contract
DebiCheck

1 mandate set-up + 12 collections. Add tracking fees for any days a payment is tracked, an update fee if the instalment changes, and a stop fee if the contract ends early.

EFT Debit Order

12 collections, plus a fee for any disputes — the lowest cost, but with no tracking, 60-day reversals and a 10% retained deposit.

Registered Mandate

1 mandate set-up + 12 collections, plus tracking days, disputes and update or stop fees if needed — usually less than DebiCheck overall.

See the full fee schedule

How each method works

A quick overview of the three collection methods.
DebiCheck
The customer confirms the mandate directly with their own bank before you can collect. Because the customer has approved the amount and date, collections within those terms can’t be disputed. Tracking and early-morning processing make it the strongest option for collection success.
EFT Debit Order
The traditional debit order. You hold the mandate yourself — paper, electronic, or voice-recorded — and submit collections in the overnight batch. It’s the cheapest way to collect, but there’s no tracking, customers can easily reverse collections, and a retained deposit is required.
Registered Mandate
The mandate is registered against the customer’s account, and their bank notifies them. There’s no approval step for the customer, yet collections still benefit from tracking. It works for business accounts too, and costs less than DebiCheck.

Which one should you use?

The right method depends on who you collect from, how much, and how much risk you’re carrying.
Choose DebiCheck when…
You collect from individuals, the amounts are meaningful, and disputes or failed collections hurt — such as lending, insurance, and fixed-term contracts.
Choose an EFT Debit Order when…
Your customers pay reliably, amounts are small, and cost per transaction matters most. Also the simplest route for business accounts.
Choose a Registered Mandate when…
You want tracking and no retained deposit, but don’t want the customer to go through an approval step — or you collect from business accounts.
Or combine them
Kwik lets you mix methods per customer: route reliable payers to lower-cost debit orders and move higher-risk payers to DebiCheck, all from one platform.

Frequently asked questions

Collect with every method, from one platform

Run DebiCheck, EFT Debit Orders and electronic mandates side by side — and route each customer to the method that works best.
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