General Overview

What is Direct Debit?

Direct Debit is a payment method that enables a business to automatically debit a customer’s bank account with their explicit permission, within agreed-upon dates.

What can Direct Debit be used for?

It is ideal for automated, recurring payments such as:

• Subscriptions and memberships

• Loan repayments and irregular repayments

• Bills and utilities

• Installment payments or savings plans

• Usage-based billing and wallet top-ups

What kinds of Direct Debits (Mandates) does Kora support?

Kora supports two types of mandates depending on your business model:

• Fixed Mandates: Sets a specific, unchanging amount to be debited automatically on a fixed schedule (e.g., weekly, monthly, yearly). Perfect for subscriptions or loan repayments.

• Variable Mandates: Allows the business to agree on a total limit and duration with the customer, then charge different amounts as needed. Ideal for usage-based billing or irregular repayments.

For Customers

Can a customer be charged without their knowledge?

No. A business cannot debit an account without explicit, prior authorization. The customer must intentionally approve the mandate before any transaction can occur.

Why is there a ₦50 charge during setup?

The ₦50 is a required NIBSS verification fee used to confirm that the customer is the actual owner of the bank account. This token charge happens only once per mandate authorization.

What happens if a customer has insufficient funds during a debit attempt?

The debit will simply fail. No money will be removed from the account, and the customer will not be forced into a negative balance by Kora.

Does the business get access to the customer's bank balance?

No. Merchants only receive permission to debit the specific amounts or limits approved. They cannot view account balances or perform any unrelated transactions.

Can a Direct Debit mandate expire?

Yes. Every authorization has a defined start and end date. Once the end date is reached, the mandate automatically stops.

For Merchants (How it Works & Integration)

How does Kora’s Direct Debit workflow work?

1. Creation: You create an authorization request using your customer's bank account details.

2. Approval: The customer completes the NIBSS approval (the ₦50 token charge) to activate the authorization.

3. Activation: Usually within a few minutes of the payment, the bank approves it. Kora marks the mandate as active and fires a direct_debit.auth webhook with the status "success". The account is now immediately debit-ready.

4. Execution: You can now debit the customer's account as needed (for variable mandates) or let Kora process the scheduled debits automatically (for fixed mandates).

How do I know if a debit fails?

Kora provides real-time webhook notifications for every transaction—including failed debits. This allows your team to act immediately or trigger retry workflows without manual reconciliation.

Can I manage or cancel a mandate?

• To Manage or Suspend: You can monitor and suspend any mandate you've created directly from your Kora merchant dashboard.

• To Cancel or Deactivate: If you need to completely deactivate a mandate, please send a request email to support@korapay.com.

How can my business get access to Direct Debit on Kora?

Direct Debit is available upon request. To get started, please send an email to sales@korapay.com to request access for your merchant account.