Guides

Spread the cost of a purchase over a defined number of fixed payments. You specify the total amount, number of instalments, and schedule; GoCardless handles the rest.

When to use Instalments

Payment plans for high-ticket purchases
Tuition and course fees
Professional services (accounting, legal)
Healthcare and dental treatment plans

Comparison between other recurring payment options

Key difference from subscriptions: Instalment schedules have a defined end. Subscriptions continue indefinitely until cancelled.

	Subscriptions	Instalments	Variable Recurring Payments	Instant Bank Pay + Direct Debit
Mandate required	Yes	Yes	Yes (consent)	Yes
Customer authorisation	Once	Once	Once (with agreed limits and frequency)	Once
Payment amounts	Fixed (per subscription)	Fixed per instalment, can vary across schedule	Variable within agreed constraints	First payment fixed; subsequent payments flexible
Payment schedule	Merchant-defined recurring (weekly, monthly, yearly)	Merchant-defined schedule with a defined end	Flexible - merchant triggers payments as needed	Flexible after first payment
Confirmation speed	2-x business days	2-x business days	Seconds	First payment: minutes; subsequent: 2-x business days
Chargeback risk	Yes	Yes	None	First payment: none; subsequent: yes
Missed payment retries	Yes (with Success+)	Yes (with Success+)	Yes	Subsequent payments: yes
Best for	SaaS, memberships, gym fees, insurance	Payment plans, tuition, professional services	Usage-based regulated billing and utilities, financial services, government services	Subscription services needing immediate, initial payment
Availability	All schemes	All schemes	GBP only	GBP and EUR

How it works

The customer sets up a mandate
You create an instalment schedule specifying the total amount, the number of payments, and the frequency
GoCardless automatically creates and collects each instalment
The schedule completes after the final instalment

Frequency options: Weekly, monthly, yearly, or custom intervals.

Step-by-step guide

curl -X POST https://api.gocardless.com/billing_requests \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "billing_requests": {
      "mandate_request": {
        "scheme": "bacs"
      }
    }
  }'

Response:

{
  "billing_requests": {
    "id": "BRQ000123",
    "status": "pending",
    "mandate_request": {
      "currency": "GBP",
      "scheme": "bacs"
    }
  }
}

Once fulfilled, retrieve both mandate ID and payment ID from the billing request:

curl https://api.gocardless.com/billing_requests/BRQ000123 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

Response:

{
  "billing_requests": {
    "id": "BRQ000123",
    "status": "fulfilled",
    "mandate_request": {
      "scheme": "bacs",
      "links": {
        "mandate": "MD123"
      }
    }
  }
}

Listen for webhooks to confirm the payment status:

Event	Meaning
billing_request_fulfilled	Customer authorised the mandate
mandates_created	Mandate created and ready to use
mandates_active	Mandate active

Once the mandate is active, set up recurring payments against it.

Option A - Create the instalment plan with fixed dates (you specify each exact charge date):

curl -X POST https://api.gocardless.com/instalment_schedules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "instalment_schedules": {
      "name": "Invoice #1234",
      "currency": "GBP",
      "total_amount": 2500,
      "instalments": [
        { "amount": 1500, "charge_date": "2024-11-01" },
        { "amount": 1000, "charge_date": "2025-02-01" }
      ],
      "links": {
        "mandate": "MD123"
      }
    }
  }'

Option B - Create the instalment plan with regular intervals (GoCardless calculates the dates):

curl -X POST https://api.gocardless.com/instalment_schedules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "instalment_schedules": {
      "name": "Invoice #1234",
      "currency": "GBP",
      "total_amount": 2500,
      "instalments": {
        "start_date": "2024-11-01",
        "interval_unit": "monthly",
        "interval": 1,
        "amounts": [1500, 1000]
      },
      "links": {
        "mandate": "MD123"
      }
    }
  }'

Response:

{
  "instalment_schedules": {
    "id": "IS123",
    "status": "active",
    "name": "Invoice #1234",
    "currency": "GBP",
    "total_amount": 2500,
    "links": {
      "mandate": "MD123",
      "payments": ["PM001", "PM002"]
    }
  }

Listen for webhooks to confirm the mandate status and notifications about future instalments:

Event	Meaning
instalment_schedules_created	Schedule created, all payments queued
payments_confirmed	Individual payment collected successfully
payments_failed	Individual payment failed
instalment_schedules_completed	All payments in the schedule collected
instalment_schedules_errored	One or more payments failed

You can cancel the instalment plan:

curl -X POST https://api.gocardless.com/instalment_schedules/IS123/actions/cancel \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

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Guides

Instalmentd

What are Instalments?

Comparison between other recurring payment options

How it works

Step-by-step guide

Create a billing request

Confirm the mandate

Handle the outcome

Setup the instalments

Manage the instalment plan