Producing a Direct Debit Instruction

These days, people receive a large number of offers to pay by Direct Debit. But, they don't always appreciate how simple it is to set up and use a Direct Debit. So a consistently recognisable presentation is vital to increase the take up of Direct Debit by your customers and make it easier and more efficient for everyone involved in the payment process.

The standard Direct Debit Instruction has been designed to make it easy for the customer to complete - and for you and your bank to process each payment automatically. Accordingly, all Direct Debit Instructions must follow the wording and the order of the information shown in the downloadable files below.

The guidelines for producing a DDI must be followed at all times and the design of all DDIs must be approved in writing by your bank before they can be issued.

The following files have been designed for you to customise with your own organisation's details.

A4 DDI with official use box (49 Kb DOC)

A4 DDI without official use box (48 Kb DOC)

A4 DDI including standing order cancallation request (60 Kb DOC)

A4 DDI with tear off offical use box (44 Kb DOC)

A4 Bilingual DDI (Welsh) (68 Kb DOC)

Small format DDI - landscape (39 Kb DOC)

Small format DDI - portrait (34 Kb DOC)

A5 DDI with official use box (50 Kb DOC)

A5 DDI without official use box (39 Kb DOC)

Direct Debit Instruction guidelines (16 Kb PDF)

Your responsibilities

You must ensure all literature, in respect of its Direct Debit application, is approved by your bank. If an error is discovered after the printing of the approved DDI you must immediately contact your bank who will advise of the appropriate action to be taken.

You must ensure that the DDI is correctly completed prior to despatch to the paying bank and that the customer has not added any amount or date restrictions to the DDI. DDIs can only be lodged with the paying bank by you and not directly by the customer.

If using the tear-off slip DDI format for additional information you must ensure that this is detached before sending to the paying bank.

The DDI is not evidence of any contract between you and your customer’s bank.