How to Encourage Parents to Pay You by Direct Debit?

You offer direct debit as a payment option, but have you done all it takes to ensure your customers sign up for the option? From enabling automation to bringing down late payments and transaction costs, direct debit can benefit your business in several ways. But the impact is heightened when more customers sign up for the option.

So, how do you get more parents to opt in for direct debit?

1. Provide an incentive

Implementing direct debit can offer you savings on time, cost and admin work. Giving out a small percentage of these savings to the parents in the form of an incentive can make the payment choice more attractive to them.

Some of the incentives businesses typically offer for direct debit sign-ups include:

• A one-off gift/gift card at the time of sign-up
• A small percentage discount off their bill
• A waiver on admin fees
• A free full/half-day session depending on viability

2. Put the benefits across to the parents

In most cases, direct debit offers a range of benefits, not just for your business, but for your customers as well. It can make life easier for busy parents as it helps them conveniently 'set and forget', and saves them the trouble of actioning the payments each time.

Make sure you put these benefits across to them. Remind them how they will need to set up the direct debit only once and won't need to take any action in the future - unless they wish to pay part of their invoice using other options like childcare vouchers.

3. Highlight the direct debit guarantee

Make sure you highlight direct debit is one of the fastest and safest methods of payment available. Tell your customers about the direct debit guarantee, which ensures the customers can get an immediate refund in case any payment is taken in error or fraudulently from their account. The direct debit guarantee also gives customers the liberty to cancel the direct debit at any time, without any fuss.

4. Put direct debit on top of the list

Put direct debit at the top of the list for preferred payment options. This will help grab the customer’s attention and emphasise direct debit as the preferred payment method. According to GoCardless, some of their customers remove other payment methods altogether from their websites, to encourage their clients to sign up for direct debit.  Some others provide multiple payment solutions to offer flexibility.  But they introduce a barrier for other methods, such as sign up by phone only, to divert their clients towards direct debit.

5. Give them flexibility with Cheqdin

As many parents prefer to make part of their childcare payment using childcare vouchers and alternate payment options, Cheqdin’s direct debit allows you to continue giving them the flexibility even after they switch to direct debit.

Unlike with conventional direct debit systems, Cheqdin allows parents to alter the direct debit amount using a 'pay now' link on the online invoice. They can enter the amount they wish to pay as direct debit for that particular invoice, and pay the rest using vouchers or alternate methods.

Now, if they do not wish to make any changes, the full invoice amount will be automatically deducted from their account on the due date. This feature allows you better control over your cash flow and makes the payment process more convenient for you and your customers.

Interested in collecting direct debit for your childcare business? Get in touch with us for a free demo to find out how Cheqdin can help you collect your payments faster.

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