How Are Registered Mandates Registered and Payers Notified?

Registering a mandate places your debit order agreement on record at the payer's bank without asking the payer to approve it. The payer's bank then notifies the payer that the mandate has been registered. This notification step is what separates registered mandates from both ordinary EFT debit orders (where the bank knows nothing) and DebiCheck (where the payer must actively authenticate).

This page walks through the registration flow, what the payer sees, and what happens if the payer objects.

How does mandate registration work?

Registration follows a bank-to-bank message flow using ISO 20022 messages:

1. You capture the mandate. The payer agrees to the debit order in your contract, and you record the mandate details — payer name, account, amount or maximum amount, frequency and collection date. The underlying mandate must still meet the minimum mandate requirements.
2. The registration request is submitted. Your sponsoring bank (or your payment provider, such as Kwik, on your behalf) sends the mandate details to the payer's bank via the Registered Mandate Service, over API or host-to-host file integration.
3. The payer's bank validates the request. It checks the account details and either accepts or rejects the registration.
4. The mandate is registered. On acceptance, the mandate record is stored against the payer's account and the mandate status becomes registered.
5. The payer is notified. The payer's bank informs the payer of the new registered mandate.

Once registered, you can submit collections against the mandate. See Collections, Tracking and Settlement.

How is the payer notified?

The payer's bank sends the notification through its own channels — typically an SMS or a message in the banking app. The notification tells the payer that a mandate has been registered against their account, usually including the collector's name and key mandate details.

Two things are important about this notification:

• It is informational, not a request. The payer is not asked to approve or reject anything. This is the fundamental difference from DebiCheck authentication, where collections cannot start until the payer approves.
• It creates awareness. Because the payer was told about the mandate at registration, a later claim that they knew nothing about the debit order carries less weight in a dispute.

What if the payer objects to the registration?

The payer cannot decline the registration the way they can decline a DebiCheck request, but they are not powerless. A payer who does not recognise or does not accept the mandate can:

• Query the mandate with their bank.
• Dispute the mandate or any collections made against it.
• Ask their bank to act on the mandate, which can lead to suspension or cancellation of the registered record.

If a payer raises a query with their bank, expect the bank or the payer to contact you. It is good practice to resolve the underlying contractual question directly with the payer quickly — an unresolved objection tends to become a formal dispute. See Returns and Disputes for how disputes are handled.

Can a registration be rejected?

Yes. The payer's bank can reject a registration request, for example where the account details are invalid, the account cannot accept debit orders, or the request fails the bank's validation rules. A rejected registration means no mandate record exists, and you should not collect against it. Correct the details and resubmit, or fall back to another collection type if registration is not possible for that account.

Statuses across the mandate's life — registered, amended, suspended, cancelled and rejected — are covered in The Registered Mandate Lifecycle Explained.

What should you tell the payer before registering?

Even though the bank sends its own notification, you should set expectations when the payer signs your contract:

• Tell the payer their bank will notify them that a mandate has been registered.
• Confirm the statement name they will see when collections start.
• Give the payer a contact channel for queries, so questions come to you rather than becoming bank disputes.

Related topics

• Registered Mandates hub
• What Is a Registered Mandate?
• The Registered Mandate Lifecycle Explained
• Registered Mandate Returns and Disputes