Glossary / Payments & banking
Direct Debit
Direct debit is an arrangement that lets a business pull funds from a customer's bank account on agreed dates, using the account's BSB and number under a signed authority.
What it means
Direct debit lets a business collect money from a customer’s bank account on agreed dates, drawing on the account’s BSB and number under an authority the customer signs in advance. It is common for subscriptions, memberships, loan repayments, and recurring supplier arrangements. Example: a gym debits members monthly, or a wholesaler debits a retailer for a standing order. The risk is that the account details behind the debit belong to the wrong person, or are later changed to a fraudster’s account.
Why it matters for Australian finance teams
If you set up a direct debit against details that were never verified, you may be pulling funds from, or paying, the wrong account. Worse, when a payer or supplier requests a change to the debit details, that change is a classic vector for mandate fraud and payment redirection fraud. Getting ownership wrong at setup causes failed debits, disputes, and reversals that are painful to unwind.
How ezyshield helps
ezyshield confirms the person, the business via ABN and ASIC, and bank account ownership before a direct debit arrangement is set up, and re-verifies whenever the details change, so a trusted account cannot be silently swapped. ezyshield verifies account-based payments like direct debit; it does not handle card payments or international transfers. See how ezyshield works and bank account ownership verification.
Also known as: DDR, direct debit request
Last updated: 7 July 2026
Related terms
- Direct Entry (DE) Direct entry (DE) is Australia's bulk electronic payment method for batched, non-urgent transactions like payroll and supplier payments, settled in scheduled runs rather than in real time.
- BECS BECS (the Bulk Electronic Clearing System) is the framework governing Australia's bulk direct entry payments, such as payroll and supplier runs, that are batched and settled on a scheduled basis.
- Bank Account Ownership Verification Bank account ownership verification confirms that a person or business actually owns the bank account they have nominated, before you pay it, so funds are not sent to an account controlled by a fraudster.
- PayTo PayTo is an Australian digital service that lets a business set up and manage real-time, pre-authorised payments from a customer's bank account through the New Payments Platform.
See also: How ezyshield works , Bank account ownership verification , Payment redirection fraud
Stop payment fraud before money moves
Verify the person, business, and bank account before any payment leaves your account.