Overview
GoCardless is a direct-debit payment processor – bank-to-bank pull payments (no cards). Popular in UK/EU/AU/NZ/CA/US for subscriptions and one-off bank payments where card fees are too high. The Automize GoCardless connector covers customers, mandates (authorisation to pull), payments, subscriptions, payouts, and refunds.
- Regions: GoCardless operates regional schemes: Bacs (UK), SEPA Core (EU), BECS (AU), ACH (US), PAD (CA), Autogiro (SE), Betalingsservice (DK), PAD NZ. Scheme picked per mandate.
- Plans: Pay-per-transaction. Standard, Plus, Pro tiers with volume discounts + features (custom payment pages, white-label).
Setting up the connection
Auth type: API Key.
- Sign in to manage.gocardless.com → Developers → Create → Access token.
- Pick environment: Sandbox (sandbox.gocardless.com) or Live (api.gocardless.com).
- Copy the token (starts with sandbox_ or live_).
- In Automize, open Settings → Connectors → GoCardless → Add connection. Paste token + environment.
Find your credentials at https://manage.gocardless.com/developers.
Rate limits
GoCardless enforces 350 requests / 5 sec per token. Connector retries 429 with backoff.
Data model
Direct-debit flow:
Customer ─── Customer Bank Account ─── Mandate (auth to pull) ─┬─ Payments (one-off)
└─ Subscriptions (recurring)
Payouts (settlement of collected payments into merchant bank)
Refunds (return funds to customer)
Mandate must be signed-off by the customer (UI redirect flow) before
payments can be pulled.Available operations
13 operations available. Click any row to jump to its detail.
| Operation | Category | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Cancel Payment | General | Cancel a pending payment |
| Create Customer | General | Create a new customer |
| Create Mandate | General | Create a new mandate |
| Create Payment | General | Create a new payment |
| Create Refund | General | Create a refund for a payment |
| Create Subscription | General | Create a recurring subscription |
| Get Payment | General | Get payment details by ID |
| List Customers | General | List all customers |
| List Mandates | General | List all mandates |
| List Payments | General | List all payments |
| List Payouts | General | List all payouts |
| List Refunds | General | List all refunds |
| List Subscriptions | General | List all subscriptions |
Operations
Cancel Payment
Cancel a pending payment
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Payment Id payment_id | Yes | text |
Tips
- Only works while in pending_submission status. Once submitted, can only refund.
Create Customer
Create a new customer
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Email email | Yes | text | |
Given Name given_name | Yes | text | |
Family Name family_name | Yes | text | |
Country Code country_code | Yes | text |
Tips
- email + given_name + family_name + country_code (ISO-2).
- swedish_identity_number / danish_identity_number for those schemes.
Create Mandate
Create a new mandate
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Scheme scheme | Yes | text | |
Customer Bank Account customer_bank_account | Yes | text |
Tips
- scheme: bacs, sepa_core, becs, ach, pad, autogiro, etc.
- customer_bank_account: existing CBA ID. Use Billing Request Flow (redirect to GoCardless) for new customers – gets you authenticated bank details + mandate in one go.
Create Payment
Create a new payment
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Amount amount | Yes | number | |
Currency currency | Yes | text | |
Mandate mandate | Yes | text | |
Description description | Yes | text |
Tips
- amount in pence/cents (smallest unit) + currency + mandate (mandate ID).
- description shows on customer's statement.
- Charge date defaults based on scheme rules (3 working days for Bacs).
Errors
mandate_not_active– Mandate not in active state – may still be pending bank confirmation.mandate_cancelled– Customer cancelled. Need a new mandate.
Create Refund
Create a refund for a payment
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Amount amount | Yes | number | |
Payment payment | Yes | text | |
Total Amount Confirmation total_amount_confirmation | Yes | text |
Tips
- payment + amount + total_amount_confirmation (must equal the original payment total – safety check).
Create Subscription
Create a recurring subscription
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Amount amount | Yes | number | |
Currency currency | Yes | text | |
Interval Unit interval_unit | Yes | text | |
Mandate mandate | Yes | text |
Tips
- amount + currency + interval_unit (weekly, monthly, yearly) + interval (1 = every period) + mandate.
- Set start_date / end_date for finite-duration subscriptions.
Get Payment
Get payment details by ID
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Payment Id payment_id | Yes | text |
Tips
- Returns status: pending_customer_approval, pending_submission, submitted, confirmed, paid_out, cancelled, failed, charged_back.
List Customers
List all customers
No input parameters.
Tips
- Page via limit + after (cursor). Filter by created_at.
List Mandates
List all mandates
No input parameters.
Tips
- Filter by customer, status (pending, active, cancelled, failed).
List Payments
List all payments
No input parameters.
Tips
- Filter by customer, mandate, subscription, status, charge_date.
List Payouts
List all payouts
No input parameters.
Tips
- Money paid into your bank account by GoCardless. status: pending, paid, bounced.
List Refunds
List all refunds
No input parameters.
Tips
- Filter by payment.
List Subscriptions
List all subscriptions
No input parameters.
Tips
- Filter by customer / status.
FAQ
- How do I onboard a new customer?
- Use Billing Request Flow (redirect-based) – GoCardless handles bank details collection + mandate authorisation in one UI. After completion, you get a fulfilled mandate ready for charging.
- Sandbox vs live?
- Two separate connections. Sandbox uses test customer scenarios (fake banks). Live processes real money.
- Why does payment fail after several days?
- Direct debits have settlement windows (Bacs 3 days, SEPA 5 days). status=pending_submission/submitted means in-flight. confirmed = settled. failed = bank rejected (insufficient funds, account closed, etc.).
- Payment vs Subscription?
- Payment = one-off. Subscription = creates recurring payments automatically on schedule. Both pull via the same mandate.