If you have 10 or more active mandates, Adfin moves them off GoCardless through the Bacs bulk change process and your clients don't sign anything; they get a letter telling them about the change. You request the move through GoCardless, agree a change date at least five weeks out, notify clients, pause new collections for about a week and then collect on Adfin. With fewer than 10 mandates, clients sign a new Adfin mandate instead.
In this article
The short version
- Adfin runs moves of 10 or more mandates from GoCardless as a Bacs bulk change, so clients keep their existing instruction and receive written notice.
- Before requesting a change date, check you have administrator access, that every mandate has a name, email and postal address, and export your payment history.
- The change date is a working day at least five weeks away, and bank approvals can take several weeks, so move the date rather than squeeze the notice period.
- Stop creating GoCardless collections 5 to 7 days before the change date, and decide client by client which side takes each nearby payment, never both.
- Set up recurring schedules again before the first collection date, and close the GoCardless account only once its final payout has arrived.
Which route applies to you
It's easy to put off leaving GoCardless if you picture emailing 60 clients to fill in a new direct debit form, then chasing the dozen who don't. With a bulk change, you don't have to.
With 10 or more active mandates, the move runs as a Bacs bulk change. Your clients' existing instructions are transferred to Adfin under a deed agreed by both providers and their banks, so clients keep the instruction they already gave and get written notice of the change. Adfin runs bulk migrations from GoCardless, London & Zurich and AccessPay.
With fewer than 10, each client signs a new Adfin mandate through a self-serve switch, with no bank approvals to wait for. Adfin chases any mandate that stays unsigned and can offer the client another way to pay while it's outstanding.
If you only want to move some clients, GoCardless offers a bulk change for selected customers. Decide which you want before you start.
What to sort out before you ask for a change date
Most of this is an afternoon in your GoCardless dashboard and your accounting software.
- Count your active mandates and confirm the route.
- Check you have administrator access to your GoCardless account, because the request has to come from the account holder.
- Check every mandate has the account holder's name, email address and postal address. Adfin needs all three, and gaps can hold the migration up.
- Export your payment history, payout reports and failed-payment records. The bulk change moves the mandates, not your history.
- List every recurring schedule and instalment plan, with amounts and dates, so you can set them up on Adfin.
- Mark every client whose collection falls in the weeks around your likely change date.
- Decide what name clients will see on their statements. Adfin can show your business name for £36 a month, but it's chosen when you set up your account and can't be added once you're live, so decide before you onboard. The client notice should say which name to expect.
The switch, step by step
| When | Step |
|---|---|
| Start | Open your Adfin account and submit GoCardless's bulk change form. |
| Start | Agree a change date with Adfin: a working day at least five weeks away, clear of your main collection run. |
| After the request | Both providers' sponsor banks authorise the change, and GoCardless sends the mandate data to Adfin securely. |
| Before the change date | Send every client written notice, using the template Adfin supplies. |
| 5 to 7 days before | Stop creating new collections on GoCardless. |
| Change date | Adfin emails your clients to confirm the move. |
| After | Collections run on Adfin under the same mandates. |
The bank approvals take the longest and can run to several weeks, so if a sponsor bank is slow, move the change date rather than squeezing the notice period.
Plan the pause around your collection dates. Say 60 clients collect on the 1st and a few mid-month. Request the move in the first week of the month and set a change date of the 15th of the next month. The 1st-of-month run goes out on GoCardless as normal, the pause falls in the quiet week before the 15th, and from the following 1st everything collects on Adfin. For each mid-month client on your list, choose whether their next payment is taken early on GoCardless or as the first collection on Adfin, but not both. Anything GoCardless submitted before the pause still collects and reaches you in a GoCardless payout, with its fee taken off.
Keep the client notice short and use the template as supplied, so clients know the change is genuine and that the Direct Debit Guarantee still protects them. If you're also planning a price rise, send it separately. A new amount needs its own advance notice, and one letter about two changes tends to bring in calls.
Your first month on Adfin
Set up your recurring schedules on Adfin before the first collection date, and check each against what the client was told. When the first run goes out, compare it with your list from step 6 so every client is charged once.
The payouts will look different. Adfin pays out every weekday at the full amount collected, with direct debits arriving within three working days of the collection date, and invoices its fee separately. Each payment matches its invoice in Xero or QuickBooks, with no fee deduction to account for. Once GoCardless's final payout has arrived, switch off any integration still posting GoCardless payouts into your accounts, then close the GoCardless account through its dashboard.
If a first collection fails, Adfin retries it free and can fall back to the client's card on file or send a payment link. Adfin's Customer Agents can pick up the chasing on anything that slips during the switch, choosing timing and channel for each client within rules you set and approve.
Common questions
Do my clients have to sign anything when I leave GoCardless? Not if you move 10 or more mandates to Adfin through the Bacs bulk change process. They get written notice, and Adfin emails them on the change date.
How long does a bulk change take? It depends on the banks' approvals, which usually take several weeks. Adfin sets the change date at least five weeks from the request.
Who tells my clients about the switch? You do, using the notice template Adfin supplies. Adfin also emails each client on the change date.
Do I need to stop collecting on GoCardless before the switch? Yes, for the 5 to 7 days before the change date. Decide client by client whether their next payment goes out on GoCardless before the pause or on Adfin after it.
Can I move only some clients? Yes. GoCardless offers a bulk change for selected customers. Clients you leave behind keep collecting on GoCardless, and you stay liable to GoCardless for refund claims on their payments.
What happens if a client claims a refund on a payment taken before the switch? Responsibility for claims on earlier collections is set out in the bulk change deed, so ask both providers before the change date how a claim would reach you, and keep your GoCardless account open until its final payout has landed.
Sources
- Adfin Help Center - Bulk-migrate your direct debit mandates to Adfin (10+ mandates) (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/12688044-bulk-migrate-your-direct-debit-mandates-to-adfin-10-mandates
- Adfin Help Center - Can I upgrade to Adfin Custom later? (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/15327706-can-i-upgrade-to-adfin-custom-later
- GoCardless Support Centre - Bulk changing away from GoCardless (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.gocardless.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115005800129-Bulk-changing-away-from-GoCardless
- Bacs - Direct Debit Scheme bulk change deed (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.bacs.co.uk/media/bdpfhdc4/dd_bulk_change_deed_b.pdf
- Pay.UK (Direct Debit) - The Direct Debit Guarantee (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.directdebit.co.uk/direct-debit-explained/direct-debit-guarantee/
