Direct debit and the control payment
ReservationBay collects its invoices by SEPA direct debit from the bank account you register. This is set up under Settings → Subscription → Direct debit, and it is owner-only.
Setting it up
Enter the account holder's name and the account number, and press Start subscription.
The control payment
Your mandate is not active the moment you type an IBAN. It becomes active once a first debit has actually cleared, which is the whole point: anyone can type an account number, only the account holder's money moves.
What that first debit is depends on your package:
| Situation | First debit | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Paid package (Growth, Pro) | Your first month, including VAT | A real charge for your first month. It appears on your invoice. |
| Free package (Flex) | € 0.50 | A control payment. It is retained and is not a sale. |
| Changing bank account | € 0.50 | A control payment, retained. |
The screen explains it while you wait: we are checking your account with a one-off debit of 50 cents. As soon as it has been processed, the direct debit is active and you pay nothing further.
It is not a deposit and not a purchase. It is the verification itself. Handing it straight back would make the check cost nothing and prove nothing. It never becomes a line on an invoice, because nothing was sold.
Mandate statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Being checked | The control debit is on its way. Nothing is billed yet. |
| Active | The debit cleared. Invoices are collected from this account. |
| Failed / cancelled | The debit did not clear. Check the account number and try again. |
Check again re-checks the status without waiting for the daily update.
Nothing is billed until it clears
No billing clock, no charges, no wallet movement until the control debit clears. Someone who typed the wrong account number is not quietly subscribed on somebody else's bank details.
Changing your bank account
Change bank account starts the same process on the new account, with its own € 0.50 control payment.
Your old mandate keeps working until the new one has proved itself. You are never left in a gap where nothing can be collected, which would only turn into a wallet balance you have to top up by hand.
What is stored
Only a masked version of your account number, NL91 **** 4300. Collections run against a token from the bank, not against the number itself, so the full number is never needed again after you enter it.
If a debit fails
An invoice that cannot be collected by direct debit goes to your wallet, and the seven-day clock starts. Fix the account details and top up the balance from the Payments screen. See Invoices and wallet.
Consent for your balance at the provider
At sign-up you can give permission for invoices to be settled from your balance at the payment provider first, the cheapest route, since the money is already there. This is asked for explicitly; the provider requires it to be asked rather than assumed.