Every merchant wants collections to land on the day they’re due, and our September webinar tackled exactly that. The session walked through the new website, the tools for managing transactions, and practical advice for getting collections right.
The new Laravel-based website adds two-factor authentication. Beyond email and password, users confirm their identity with a second factor, much like many banking apps. This protects both the business and the merchant data stored on the platform from cyber-attacks and data leakage. The layout stays familiar, with transaction maintenance, reporting, management reports, transaction uploads, and PIP sanctions screening all in place. Quick guides are available, and account managers or the contact centre can send them on request.
Setting defaults for payday success
Payment dates rarely stay fixed. Weekends, public holidays, and job changes all shift them. Altron FinTech offers a date adjustment rule that moves a debit automatically, for example from a weekend to the preceding Friday or the following Monday. Merchants can set these defaults at onboarding through their account manager.
Tracking days matter too. Three days is generally enough for a normal weekend, since banks rarely process on Sundays. Around a long weekend such as Easter, merchants may need to move the date earlier and extend tracking. The maximum tracking period is ten trading days, while weekly debits are limited to seven.
There are two main options. A failed debit can be rescheduled to a chosen future date, although that change can be reversed. Alternatively, an instalment can retry on the same date the following month. This suits payday lending well, because consumers cannot easily reverse it.
Reversals are the key risk. A consumer can dispute a debit that departs from the signed mandate, such as one with a changed date or amount. Within 40 days, banks typically reverse without much questioning. After that, they examine the agreement itself. Sticking to the mandate's terms keeps the risk low.
Solution: When customers change banks, get a new mandate. Five minutes of effort prevents collections headaches.
Compliance comes first
Date changes can only do so much. Affordability checks and an accurate mandate at origination on the POS device form the foundation. Merchants should also watch for pay dates that fall on public holidays, such as 24 September, and consider collecting a day earlier.
Support and partnership
Merchants can reach the contact centre by phone, live chat, or WhatsApp, and account managers are available for guidance and training. The webinar presented this as a partnership: Altron FinTech reaches out proactively to merchants and also responds when they call.