BACS

FastSpring supports BACS as a payment method from the United Kingdom.

BACS gives enterprise buyers in the United Kingdom a secure and convenient way to pay directly from their bank account. FastSpring supports BACS for enterprise buyers in the United Kingdom purchasing in GBP.

Unlike card payments, BACS does not provide real-time authorization. Banks process BACS requests in daily batches, so payment confirmation can take several business days.

The sections below explain the prerequisites, buyer experience, payment timing, failure handling, refund behavior, and webhook details for BACS. Select a section or use the TOC on the right to jump ahead.

Prerequisites

To use BACS, the following requirements must be met:

• Payment must be in GBP, and the transaction country must be the United Kingdom.
• Buyers must have a single-signature UK bank account with a BACS-enabled sort code.

Warning: FastSpring does not support dual-signature bank accounts for BACS payments.

Customer experience

Here's what the FastSpring BACS checkout experience looks like for buyers:

1. The buyer selects BACS as their payment method during checkout.
2. FastSpring asks for the required details:
   • Name
   • Bank details: Account number and Sort code
3. After the buyer clicks Pay, FastSpring displays a confirmation page with the payment details the buyer entered. The buyer can edit the details and resubmit the form if needed.
4. The buyer agrees to the BACS and FastSpring terms and conditions.
5. FastSpring submits the payment request to the processing channel.
6. Within 3–5 business days, the funds are debited from the buyer's bank account and FastSpring sends a confirmation email to the buyer.
7. FastSpring provisions any fulfillments and licenses after the payment is completed.

Payment timing

The timeline below shows when BACS payments are initiated and when FastSpring receives bank responses.

BACS responses are not real-time. Banks process BACS requests in daily batches, and each step requires clearing through the banking network. As a result, FastSpring may not receive confirmation or failure until several business days after the buyer submits their payment.

Failures and notifications

BACS transactions may fail after the buyer submits their information. Common reasons include:

• Insufficient funds
• Invalid account number
• The buyer blocking debits from their bank account

When a transaction fails, FastSpring cancels the order and sends seller notifications.

Refunds and returns

Process refunds and returns the same way you would for any other transaction. FastSpring will automatically return the funds to the buyer's bank account.

Webhooks

FastSpring includes the following field in the order.completed webhook payload when an order is completed with BACS:

"payment": {
  "type": "bacs"
}

For more information on the order.completed webhook, see the Successful Orders documentation.

FAQs