A guide to preparing your business for Registered Mandates (RM) in South Africa

With the mandatory shift from the Registered Mandate Service (RMS) to the Registered Mandate (RM) payment stream by 10 March 2025, businesses relying on RMS debit orders must act now to ensure a smooth transition. 

To avoid disruptions and maintain collection efficiency, it is essential to plan ahead. This guide outlines the key steps businesses should take to manage the transition effectively.

Ensuring collection continuity and deprecating RMS payments

Step 1: Assess your RMS reliance

A crucial first step is to conduct an audit to determine the extent of RMS usage in your organisation. Work with your payments partner to identify how many collections are at risk. 

Step 2: Begin the authentication process for RMS debit orders

Once you have a clear picture of your RMS debit order volume, the next step is to reattempt authentication. The goal is to convert as many RMS mandates as possible into authenticated DebiCheck mandates before the cutover date.

This process involves reaching out to customers and prompting them to authenticate their mandates. It may take time, but for businesses with a large volume of RMS mandates early action is critical.

To streamline authentication, businesses can use a combination of TT1 Real-Time and TT1 Delayed authentication methods:

• TT1 Real-Time: Allows authentication while the customer is on the phone, with a response time of 120 seconds via USSD Push or mobile banking.
• TT1 Delayed: Gives the customer more flexibility, allowing them to authenticate up until 22:30 on the same day via online banking, an ATM, or other banking channels.

Using both methods ensures a higher authentication success rate and helps businesses secure mandates well before the deadline.

However, if DebiCheck authentications fail again, then it is necessary to consider alternate payment methods to ensure successful collections: 

• EFT debit order 
• Registered Mandate (when available)
• Recurring card payments

Businesses should consider a multi-channel campaign that highlights the value of the product to customers, with a clear call-to-action to load an alternative payment method. For example, a gym might run a communication campaign to customers with a key message: “Don’t give up your New Year’s resolution. Make sure to add your card details in our secure payment page to avoid any disruptions to your membership plan.” 

Step 3: Analyse the impact on your collections

It is vital to understand how RM’s evening processing schedule will affect your collection success rates. Running a test using EFT debit orders on a known salary date can provide valuable insights.

Although RM will be processed slightly earlier than EFT debit orders, this test will offer an indication of how collections might perform under the new RM payment stream. Comparing success rates between early morning and late processing will help businesses adjust their strategies accordingly.

Step 4: Train your call centre staff

For businesses that rely on call centre agents to manage mandate authentication, training is essential. Agents should understand the technical aspects of DebiCheck and be equipped to guide customers through the authentication process. Precium offers a simple training resource that outlines the customer experience for each of the major issuing banks, supported by frequently asked questions.  

Step 5: Adjust sales and service processes

Some businesses currently provide goods, services, or credit before obtaining DebiCheck authentication, relying on RMS fallback options. With RMS being phased out, this approach may lead to increased failed collections.

It is important to review and, where necessary, adjust sales and service processes to ensure that no goods, services, or credit are provided before mandate authentication is completed. This proactive approach can help reduce collection risks in the RM environment.

Step 6: Ongoing review and support

The transition does not end on 10 March 2025. Businesses will need to continuously review their collection strategies, monitor RM mandate performance, and refine their processes to ensure long-term success.

Read more about the transition to Registered Mandates and what to expect.

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