Accepting pre-authorized debit (PAD)
What has to be in place, how families add a Canadian bank account, the PAD agreement, how long debits take, and what happens when one is returned.
What it is
Pre-authorized debit lets a family pay tuition straight from a Canadian bank account. The family agrees to a PAD agreement once, and from then on RoundUp debits their account when an invoice is due. It's processed by Stripe, like card payments.
What has to be in place
- Your centre is in Canada and bills in Canadian dollars. Both are needed: a debit in any other currency would fail at the bank. See Setting up a Canadian centre.
- Your payments account is set up and can take payments. See Set up payments and payouts.
- Pre-authorized debit is turned on for your payments account. Stripe treats it as a separate capability. RoundUp asks for it when your centre's payments account is opened in Canada, and asks again the first time a family starts adding a bank account. While Stripe is still turning it on, a family who tries sees Pre-authorized debit is still being enabled for this centre's payment account. Please try again later, or pay by card for now.
At a centre that bills in CAD, families see a Canadian bank account option instead of the US one. US bank accounts (ACH) aren't offered.
How families add a bank account
Families do it themselves, in either place:
- The app: Payments → Settings → Add Canadian Bank Account. Adding an account here also turns on autopay once the account is confirmed.
- The family portal: Payment methods → Add a Canadian bank account. Autopay stays as the family had it.
Either one opens Stripe's secure page, where the family enters their bank account, Stripe verifies it, and the family accepts the PAD agreement. Bank details are entered on Stripe's page, never in RoundUp.
The account appears in the family's payment methods once Stripe has confirmed it, as their default payment method. If Stripe verifies it with small test deposits, that can take a few business days. The family gets a Bank account ready notification when it's set up.
The guide for families is Paying tuition by pre-authorized debit.
The PAD agreement
The agreement the family accepts is shown by Stripe, because Payments Canada's rules set its wording. RoundUp fills in when debits happen: When a tuition or fee invoice from your centre's name becomes due. That covers autopay, an open invoice you collect, and a payment plan instalment. Stripe emails the family a confirmation of the agreement.
When debits happen and how long they take
With autopay on, the family's account is debited when each invoice is due. A debit takes up to five business days to settle. Until then the invoice isn't paid:
- In the app, the invoice shows Payment pending, with Pre-authorized debit of the amount submitted the date — not settled yet.
- In the director portal, the family's invoice shows PENDING and the same note.
While a debit is settling, autopay and Retry Now on a payment failure won't charge the same invoice again. The invoice is marked paid when the bank confirms the debit.
Returned debits
A bank can return a debit days after it was submitted, for example for insufficient funds or a closed account. When that happens:
- the invoice goes back to unpaid, and shows Last bank payment of the amount was returned and the date,
- you get a Bank payment returned notification,
- the family is told the payment didn't go through and the invoice is still unpaid, and that a returned-payment fee may be added to their next invoice.
Talk to the family before you collect the invoice again.
Cancelled agreements
A family can cancel their PAD agreement by removing the bank account in the app or the family portal, or through their bank. Either way, RoundUp stops debiting the account. If it was their autopay method, autopay is switched off, and you get a Pre-authorized debit cancelled notification saying their future invoices will need another payment method.
Questions
Can a family pay one invoice by bank without saving the account?
No. Pre-authorized debit needs the agreement first, so the account has to be saved as a payment method. A payment method entered for a single invoice is a card.
Can a family use a US bank account?
Not at a centre that bills in Canadian dollars. Only Canadian bank accounts, through pre-authorized debit.
More: All director guides