Direct Debit Management System (UK/Europe)

	Note: "Direct Debit" is a UK/European term not to be confused with the popular banking term "debit". If you are researching a solution for debit cards, prepaid cards, etc. please refer to our debit card solution and/or prepaid card solution.

Introduction: Direct Debit Management System

Direct debit, as a method of payment in the UK, has grown four-fold in the last four years and is currently used by over 35 million consumers and 100,000 businesses. Direct debit is also growing rapidly in Europe and beyond.

Direct debit has posed many challenges to management including: overall manageability, scalability, integration with existing systems, and international direct debits. To address these challenges, Strategic Information Technology (SIT) Ltd. introduced a Direct Debit Management System (DDMS) in 2004, that aims to maximize the automation of the entire direct debit process.

Direct Debit Automation

Direct Debit Brochure

Handling thousands or perhaps millions of direct debit instructions on a monthly basis is no easy task. Traditionally, the management of the direct debit process has been semi-automated at best, resulting in a high level of expenses incurred by knowledge workers, in addition to a high error rate. The Portfolio Plus Direct Debit Management System achieves maximum efficiency by allowing you to embed your operational policies and behaviours into the processes of managing AUDDIS, ARUDD and ADDACS.

Direct Debit: Collection Process

Depending on the bank or country, a DDI request may need to be submitted three or more days before funds are withdrawn from an account. The Portfolio Plus DDMS manages this workflow for you and creates, on a daily basis, the DDI information in the correct file format for transmission to each country.

Direct Debit: Automating AUDDIS

A new DDI requires a lodgement to be introduced to the target bank before any collection activity can take place. The Portfolio Plus DDMS validates the information and incorporates it into the regular DDMS collection process.

Direct Debit: Automating ARRUD

Responses and reactions to the Automated Return of Unpaid Direct Debits (ARUDD) are determined by you. For example, if your operational policy dictates that you try to re-present the payment in three days or perform a double-claim in the next month, this can be accommodated.

Direct Debit: Managing ADDACS

Changes to banking information or sort codes are incorporated into the DDMS process and any new DDI’s that are required will be sent to the appropriate bank. In some cases ADDACS will result in a suspension of service. The Portfolio Plus DDMS allows you to respond to such events according to your operational policies.

Direct Debit: The Technology

Input and output to the Portfolio Plus Direct Debit Management System can be accommodated via any flat file format, XML format or, for more sophisticated environments, a Java Messaging Service. The inner architecture of the DDMS such as the database and XML messaging are not illustrated but are available for review if you wish.

Direct Debit Management System
Integration with Existing Systems

The Portfolio Plus DDMS allows for integration with virtually any flat-file or XML-based system including: point-of-sale systems, accounting systems, treasury systems and more. For larger organizations, sophisticated messaging technology and interfaces like Java Messaging Service, MQ-Series, TIBCO and WebSphere can be used.

Embed Your Operational Policies into
the Direct Debit Management System

In addition to data validation one of the most important benefits of a high-performance DDMS is the embedding of your operational policies. This relieves much of the day-to-day operational activities that your employees must perform when dealing with direct debit instructions. Add a solid technical infrastructure to support these efficiencies and you have a truly scalable solution that will allow you to expand your direct debit operations on a domestic and international level.