Guides

Collect Payments

Overview Integration Companion

Setting up Mandates

Direct Debit Mandates Verified Mandates Collecting mandates offline Importing Mandates

One-off Payments

One-off Direct Debit Instant Bank Payment

Recurring Payments

Subscription Instalments Variable Recurring Payments Instant Bank Payment + Direct Debit

Integration Types

GoCardless Hosted Pages Javascript Drop-in Flow Custom Payment Pages

Events & Webhooks

Mandate Events Billing Requests Events

Managing payments

FX Payments Reconciling Payouts

Scheme guidance

ACH and PAD Consent Types Billing Request Purpose Codes VRP Commercial Payment Purpose Codes PayTo Agreements and Payments

Send money

Introduction to Outbound Payments Payment Account API request signing

Send an outbound payment

Adding a new recipient Initiate an outbound payment Approve an outbound payment Cancel an outbound payment

Tracking outbound payments Bank Account Holder Verification Strong Customer Authentication

Optimise and increase revenue

Prevent fraud with Protect+ Retain customers with fallbacks Reduced failed payments with Success+

Prefill customer details

New customer record Existing customer record Populate Billing Request Flow

Blocking mandates

Tutorials

Taking Direct Debit payments using Billing Requests and Custom Payment Pages Handling tax Handling Customer Notifications

GoCardless Embed

Introduction Creating a creditor Adding a creditor bank account Optional Setting a scheme identifer Optional

Setting up mandates / collecting payments

Billing Request with Actions: Setting up a Direct Debit mandate Collecting a Direct Debit payment Billing Request with Actions: Taking an Instant Bank Payment Billing Request with Actions Dual Flow: Taking an Instant Bank Payment and setting up a Direct Debit mandate

Handling webhooks

Reconciling payouts

Payout Items API Automated Payout Reporting Optional

Setting Up Branding Optional API request signing Optional Bank Details Access Optional

Bank Account Data

Overview Quickstart Guide Endpoints Bank Selection UI Sandbox Statuses and Error code Output: Account Details Output: Balances Output: Transaction Details Postman Collection FAQs

Integration Companion

View as Markdown

Plan your GoCardless integration from end to end. Get oriented with the Billing Request — the API that powers our payment flows — then choose the integration path that suits your team and use the interactive guide below to map out the exact steps you'll need to build.

The Billing Request API

What is a Billing Request?

A Billing Request helps create resources that require input or action from a customer. This single API supports all geographies and features offered by GoCardless.

What to use it for?

Set up a Direct Debit, PayTo, or VRP mandate; take a one-off Instant Bank Payment via Open Banking; or combine both.

How it works?

Create a Billing Request specifying your desired outcome
Complete the required actions
Use the Billing Request Flow to complete any remaining actions

Integration paths

Pick the approach that fits the level of control you want over the customer experience.

Simplest

Hosted payment pages

GoCardless handles the full customer UX. You redirect your customer to a GoCardless-hosted page to complete their mandate or payment authorisation, then we redirect them back.

Best for: Getting live quickly with minimal frontend work.

Hosted payment pages guide →

JavaScript Drop-in flow

Embed a GoCardless-managed modal directly into your page. Customers complete the payment flow without leaving your site, while GoCardless handles the UX inside the drop-in.

Best for: Keeping customers on your site with minimal integration effort

JavaScript Drop-in guide →

Most flexible

Custom payment pages

You own the full customer UX and call the GoCardless API directly at each step. Requires more development effort but gives you complete control over design and flow.

Best for: Teams with engineering resources who want a fully branded experience.

Custom pages guide →