Recurring or subscription payments enable you to receive payments from your customers at specified intervals (days, weeks, months, etc) without them having to go online each time and input their card details and go through authentication.

How recurring payments work

• Set up a subscription payment plan either by creating a subscription payment link, creating a payment plan on the dashboard, or creating a payment plan by calling the APIs.

• Your customers subscribe to the payment plan by making a payment on your subscription payment page or website/app. This is the only time they will be asked to input their card information.

• Subsequently, your customers will be charged according to the specified interval and number of times. You can unsubscribe customers from payment plans at any time.

How to create a subscription payment plan

You can create a payment plan in one of three ways.

1. Create a subscription payment page, through the dashboard, where customers can be directed to make payments.

2. Create a payment plans page. However, customers can only be subscribed to these payment plans from your website or app.

3. You can also use the payment plans API.

Subscribing to a payment plan

Once a customer pays the first time for your subscription, either through payment pages or in your website/app, they are then subscribed to that subscription plan and charged at the specified interval.

Unsubscribing from a payment plan

Before each charge, an email notification is sent to the customer informing them of the pending charge and giving them the option to unsubscribe from this plan. You also have the option of unsubscribing customers from your payment plan yourself, through the payment plans page on the dashboard.

What is the Flutterwave Account Direct Debit Service?

Flutterwave, in partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), has introduced the direct account debit service. This cutting-edge solution allows businesses to facilitate one-time, subscription, or recurring payments directly from customers' bank accounts. The service is designed to streamline the payment process while reducing the costs and challenges associated with card transactions.

Traditionally, setting up direct debits in Nigeria involved a manual process where customers needed to fill out paper forms and await bank approval, making it lengthy and cumbersome. Flutterwave’s Account Debit Service automates this process, eliminating the need for paper-based forms and manual approvals. With this solution, businesses can now enjoy faster, more reliable payments, and customers can authorize recurring payments seamlessly.

How does it work?

Here is how the Flutterwave account debit service works:

Step 1: Mandate Creation

Customers authorize merchants to debit their bank accounts by creating a mandate.  A ₦100 authorization fee is charged for each mandate setup. This process is quick and secure, utilizing Flutterwave’s account validation service.

Step 2: Account Validation 

Before initiating a mandate, merchants must use the account validation service to confirm the customer's bank account details. This ensures accurate and secure payments.

Step 3: Payment Initiation

Once the mandate is in place, merchants can initiate payments using the token generated by Flutterwave, which allows them to directly debit the customer's bank account for future payments, whether one-time or recurring, once the mandate is approved. 

What do I need to be enabled for the account debit service?

You must have an active Flutterwave for Business account to use this service. Additionally, this service can only be accessed by integrating with our APIs. 

The following are also required:

1. You need to request approval from Flutterwave before you can use this service. Request for approval here.

2. Your Flutterwave account must be approved to carry out transactions.

3. Utilize Flutterwave’s account validation service to ensure secure transactions. You can learn more about this process and access our Account Debit API by visiting our Developer Documentation here.

As a customer, how can I tokenize my account?

If you are paying a merchant that has enabled our Account Direct Debit solution on their application, follow these steps to tokenize your account: 

1. Select the option to link your bank account and authorize future payments via account debit.

2. You will be asked to provide the following information:

• Email Address

• Billing Address

• Bank Account 

• Bank Account 

• Phone number

1. Flutterwave will check if your account number is correct by verifying the name on your bank account.

2. You will need to transfer ₦100 to a specific bank account provided by Flutterwave. Make sure you send the money from the bank account you want to link for future payments.

3. After making the transfer, you will need to click on the "I have made this bank transfer" button to notify us that the payment has been made. Once the transfer is confirmed, you will be asked to authorize the merchant to charge your account. After the authorization is complete, the customer will receive a confirmation message.

4. After the payment is confirmed, a debit mandate is created for your account.

Note: You’ll need to wait for at least 3 hours after you have given the merchant authorization before your account can be charged for the first time.

What are the fees associated with the Flutterwave account debit service?

Here are the fees we currently charge:

1. Mandate Authorization Fee ₦100 Naira, for setting up the mandate.

2. Flutterwave Transaction Fee ₦100 fee for transactions below ₦10,000.

₦250 fee for transactions between ₦10,000 and ₦50,000.

0.5% fee for transactions above ₦50,000, capped at ₦1,000 per successful charge.

What are the supported Banks?

Flutterwave’s Account Debit Solution supports all commercial banks in Nigeria. However, this service doesn’t support Neo banks and digital-only banks.