Adfin and GoCardless both collect SEPA direct debits from your customers' euro accounts under a signed mandate. They differ in what surrounds the collection: GoCardless doesn't take card payments or send invoice reminders, and its fees are taken out of your payouts, whereas Adfin also takes card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and bank transfer and includes free reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp. If you move across from GoCardless, your customers keep their existing mandates.
In this article
The short version
- Adfin marks payments paid in Xero or QuickBooks automatically.
- GoCardless doesn't take card payments; Adfin takes cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
- GoCardless doesn't send invoice reminders; Adfin's Essential reminders are free.
- GoCardless takes its fees out of payouts before they reach your bank.
- Customers moving from GoCardless to Adfin keep their existing mandates.
Where the two overlap and where they differ
The direct debit itself works the same way whichever you use, because the SEPA Core rules apply to every collector. Each customer signs a mandate once, gets notice before every collection (14 calendar days unless you've agreed a shorter period with them), and can ask their bank for a refund of any authorised collection within eight weeks. Neither provider changes those rules.
The comparison widens once you look at the work around each collection: customers who'd rather pay another way, invoices that aren't on direct debit at all, and the follow-up when something goes unpaid.
| If you mainly need | GoCardless | Adfin |
|---|---|---|
| Card payments for customers without a mandate | Doesn't take card payments | Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay, from a link sent by email, SMS or WhatsApp |
| Reminders for unpaid invoices | Doesn't send invoice reminders or chase unpaid invoices | Unlimited reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp on the free Essential level |
Customers who won't pay by direct debit
You may have customers who won't sign a mandate, such as a one-off client, someone paying a deposit or a customer who prefers to pay by card. With GoCardless, those customers need another route, because it doesn't accept card payments. That can mean a second payment provider, or invoices that wait for a bank transfer.
With Adfin, the same customer can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or bank transfer from a payment link you send by email, SMS or WhatsApp. Card payments are charged at the standard price of 20c + 1% and aren't capped. You can also use the two methods in sequence, with a link for a customer's first invoice and a mandate once they become a regular, which keeps every customer in one place.
Reminders, chasing and interest
Direct debit takes care of the invoices it covers, as long as the collection goes through. Everything else, the card and bank transfer invoices, and any collection that's returned for reasons such as insufficient funds or a closed account, has to be followed up. GoCardless doesn't send invoice reminders, so reminders for those invoices come from your accounting software, a separate credit control tool or you.
The free Essential credit control level covers unlimited reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp, customer statements and an aged debtors view where you give each overdue account an owner and a next step. The Enhanced level costs 0.3% per paid invoice, and only when you use it. It adds Adfin's collection agents, which decide when and how to follow up each customer inside rules you approve, sends emails from your own address, and adds statutory late payment interest to overdue invoices between businesses, with grace periods and waivers for individual customers. Interest under S.I. 580 of 2012 applies to business and public body customers only, so leave it off invoices to consumers.
Fees, your books and moving across
GoCardless pays out in a lump sum with its transaction fees already taken off. The amount that lands in your bank is less than the total of the invoices in that payout, so you'll match one net figure against several invoices and record the fees as a separate cost. Showing your own business name on customers' bank statements is a GoCardless add-on at €50 a month. Whichever provider you're weighing up, ask how its fees appear in your bank account and in Xero or QuickBooks, and whose name your customers will see on their statements.
Adfin's price is 20c + 1% per successful payment, with no monthly fee, setup fee or contract. On SEPA direct debit and bank transfer the 1% part is capped at €2 (cards have no cap), so a direct debit or bank transfer of up to €2,000 costs at most €2.20. As a certified Xero app and a certified QuickBooks app with two-way sync, it marks each payment it takes as paid in your accounts automatically.
If you decide to move, your direct debit customers keep their existing mandates and don't sign anything new. Each mandate comes across with that customer's next collection, and the customer is told before it's taken. Card and bank transfer customers get the new payment link on their next invoice. Agree one switch-over date, and stop collections at GoCardless for each customer who has moved so no invoice is collected twice.
Common questions
Do customers have to sign new mandates to move from GoCardless to Adfin? No, customers moving across from GoCardless keep their existing mandates, and each mandate moves with the next collection after they've been told about the change.
Can GoCardless customers pay by card? GoCardless doesn't accept card payments, so customers who want to pay by card need another way to pay, such as a provider that takes card, Apple Pay and Google Pay alongside SEPA direct debit.
Does GoCardless send invoice reminders? No, GoCardless doesn't send reminders for unpaid invoices or chase them. Adfin's Essential credit control includes unlimited reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp at no charge under fair use.
Does GoCardless take its fees out of payouts? GoCardless pays out in one lump sum with its transaction fees deducted. So the payout in your bank is lower than the total of the invoices collected.
Can Adfin add late payment interest to invoices? Yes, on its Enhanced level it adds statutory late payment interest to overdue invoices between businesses automatically, with grace periods and per-customer waivers. It doesn't apply interest to consumers.
Does Adfin work with Xero and QuickBooks in Ireland? It's a certified Xero app and a certified QuickBooks app with two-way sync, and payments taken through it are marked paid in Xero or QuickBooks automatically.
Sources
- GoCardless - Pricing, Ireland (accurate as of November 2026) https://gocardless.com/en-ie/pricing
- GoCardless - Credit card payments (accurate as of November 2026) https://support.gocardless.com/hc/en-gb/articles/18170477922204-Credit-card-payments
- GoCardless - Receiving a payout (accurate as of November 2026) https://support.gocardless.com/hc/en-gb/articles/17485089478940-Receiving-a-payout
- European Payments Council - 2025 SEPA Direct Debit Core Rulebook, version 1.0 (accurate as of November 2026) https://europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/sites/default/files/kb/file/2024-11/EPC016-06%202025%20SDD%20Core%20Rulebook%20version%201.0.pdf
- Irish Statute Book - S.I. No. 580/2012, European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2012/si/580/made/en/print
