Setting up Revolut Business Direct Debit in the UK

Revolut Business offers UK customers 4 different plans which range from the Basic account with no ongoing fees, through to Enterprise level accounts which are custom made for more complex customer needs. If you’re using Revolut for your company finances, you may be wondering how to set up a Revolut Business direct debit to pay your suppliers, contractors or business invoices. This guide to direct debits with Revolut Business covers what you should know.

We'll also touch on a brief introduction to Wise Business, which offers accounts that can set up direct debits, and support 40+ currencies for holding and exchange, with no monthly fees.

💡 Learn more about Wise Business

How does Revolut Business direct debit work?

A direct debit gives permission for a company or merchant to debit funds from an account to pay a recurring bill or invoice.

If you want to set up a direct debit as a customer, you’ll need to complete a direct debit mandate which the company you’re paying can process. In the mandate you agree to allow regular payments to be debited from your account - making this a handy model for paying subscriptions and recurring fees for example.

As for the accounts receivable side of things, you may also want to consider setting up direct debits to your customers, so they can pay recurring bills in an automatic way, minimising late payments and improving your cash flow.

Setting up a direct debit with Revolut as a merchant

There are 2 different ways you might want to use a direct debit as a business owner - to pay, or to get paid. At the time of writing, Revolut Business direct debit is only marketed as a way of paying others - not as an option to receive customer payments.

If you want to set up direct debit for your customers to receive payments in multiple currencies, Wise Business may be a better choice.

That said, Revolut does offer loads of different ways for business owners in the UK to get paid by their customers, including with account details to receive a bank transfer, using invoices, with payment links, a card reader and the Revolut terminal. This gives a good range of options for on and offline payment processing, in GBP and other currencies.

Bear in mind that fees may apply when you receive incoming payments with Revolut. These costs do vary, and can include 0.20 GBP fees for incoming local payments, or 5.00 GBP for international transfers¹. Some account plans include a set number of no fee incoming transfers monthly before fees apply - check your own plan’s terms before you transact.

Setting up a direct debit with Revolut as a customer

You can set up a direct debit within Revolut account as a customer, to allow you to pay merchants, organisations and businesses easily. This is very handy for recurring payments such as a retainer to a supplier, office rent or utilities, and regular transfers to contractors for example.

Setting up any direct debit is primarily the responsibility of the person or organisation being paid. If you’re trying to set up a direct debit in Revolut Business, you’ll first need to ask the business you want to pay for their direct debit mandate.

Transfers can be arranged in GBP or EUR through the direct debit core system - the SEPA B2B scheme is not supported.

Here’s an outline of the Revolut Business direct debit process²:

1. Ask the person you’re paying for their direct debit mandate - usually an online form
2. Complete the details, giving your Revolut account details to be debited
3. Check over the terms of the direct debit and return the form to the payee

It’s then the responsibility of the person you’re paying to set up the direct debit with their own bank and direct debit provider, and to debit the funds as agreed in the mandate document.

Revolut Business direct debit fees

Revolut does not charge business customers to set up direct debits. You can set up as many direct debits as you like, for whatever amount you like, in GBP and EUR.

If you need currency conversion to complete the direct debit, fees may apply. For example, if you’re paying a direct debit in EUR but only hold GBP in your account. In this case, any currency conversion which falls within your plan’s weekday no fee conversion limit may be done without additional fees - but once the limit is exhausted, a fair usage fee of 0.6% applies. There’s also a fee of 1% for currency conversion outside of market hours.

The amount of currency conversion you can get with the Revolut rate and no additional fee depends on the plan you pick. Basic accounts can convert 1,000 GBP a month, while top tier accounts can exchange 50,000 GBP.

Looking for ways to convert currencies with no out of hours fees? Check out Wise Business. Hold and convert 40+ currencies, with conversion that uses the mid market rate and low fees from 0.33%.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

FAQs - Revolut Business direct debit

Why is my Revolut Direct Debit not working?

If you’ve set up a Revolut direct debit to pay a bill, and it fails, there are a few common reasons. To resolve the issue, first check you have sufficient funds in the account - if you don’t, the payment will not process.

If that’s not the issue, you’ll need to talk to the merchant. Confirm the type of direct debit they set up - Revolut supports core scheme transfers only - and check they have the right direct debit details for your account. Generally when direct debits are declined, these are the issues involved³.

What is the difference between a standing order and a Direct Debit?

Both standing orders and direct debits are similar in that they’re recurring payments - but the way they work is a bit different. A standing order is a push payment, which means you set it up through your own bank, and the bank will send a fixed amount on a regular basis as agreed. A direct debit on the other hand is a pull payment. This means the merchant or organisation being paid is in control of the transfer, and can debit varying amounts if needed.

Read more about Standing Order vs Direct Debit on our complete guide

How much does it cost to use Direct Debit?

Revolut doesn’t charge customers to set up or process a direct debit. Bear in mind though that if you’re sending money in a currency that’s not the same as the funds in your account, you may incur currency conversion costs.

How to manage Direct Debit on Revolut?

You can set up a Revolut direct debit core by giving the company you want to pay the account details from Revolut which they should debit. Revolut supports direct debits in GBP and EUR. The company you’re paying will need a direct debit mandate - usually they’ll ask you to complete an online form. This will detail the agreement between you and the organisation you’re paying, and give permission for funds to be deducted from your account.

How do I get my customers to pay by Direct Debit?

Revolut doesn’t market services which allow you to receive a direct debit from customers. If you want to receive customer payments with direct debit you may need to go through another provider, like Wise Business, which can help provide you with the direct debit mandate you must issue to customers to facilitate transfers.

Accept international direct debit payments with Wise Business

If you have customers in other countries, or would love to trade internationally in the future, it’s super handy to have a Wise Business account.

With this powerful multi-currency account, you can accept payments from 8+ currencies and set up direct debit for your customers. You can hold 40+ currencies in your account at once and switch between them when you need to, always with the mid-market exchange rate.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

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Use this guide to Revolut Business direct debits in the UK, to help decide if the services suit your needs. And while you’re making your business finances run as smoothly and simply as possible, why not also take a look at Wise Business, for low cost multi-currency accounts with no ongoing fees and the mid-market rate.

Sources used in this article:

1. Revolut help - receiving fees
2. Revolut help - set up direct debit
3. Revolut Help - direct debit problems

Sources last checked October 18, 2024