Can you use a Credit Card to set-up a Direct Debit?

CurtBurr

Hi,

This may be a really silly question - so apologies! 

But can you use a Credit Card to set up a Direct Debit? For example, if I wanted to set up a 12-month gym membership or pay car insurance monthly, could I use my Credit Card to pay for this? I’ve noticed that when filling out Direct Debit requests the form asks for an account number and sort code, but most Credit Cards use a generic account number (with a specific reference number instead). 

However, I’ve got my Amazon Prime subscription set up to pay monthly on my credit card and that seems to work no issue. Seems a little strange!

Does it depending on the nature of the DD and/or the specific CC?

Thanks!

kuratowski

You can set up regular payments on a credit card, it's called a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA), it's similar to a direct debit.  However it's up to the company what payment methods they choose to offer.  Credit cards charge higher fees to the company, so that's probably why they prefer direct debit.  Amazon are big enough to be able to cope with the higher fees.

Credit cards are convenient but they're not the solution to everything.

pramsay13

You can't set up direct debits but companies can set up recurring payments on a credit card.
It's a slightly different thing with different rules but might suit you.

CurtBurr

kuratowski said:

You can set up regular payments on a credit card, it's called a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA), it's similar to a direct debit.  However it's up to the company what payment methods they choose to offer.  Credit cards charge higher fees to the company, so that's probably why they prefer direct debit.  Amazon are big enough to be able to cope with the higher fees.

Credit cards are convenient but they're not the solution to everything.

pramsay13 said:

You can't set up direct debits but companies can set up recurring payments on a credit card.
It's a slightly different thing with different rules but might suit you.

Thank you both! That makes sense now. Cheers