But one thing’s been missing – being able to help businesses that serve customers in the largest market in the world. I’m thrilled to be able to share with XU magazine readers that GoCardless now supports Direct Debit payments in the US through the ACH network. Any Xero user worldwide, whether you’re based in the US or not, can now collect Direct Debit payments from US-based customers.

Hiroki Takeuchi, GoCardless’ CEO, said “Over the last year our partnership with Xero has gone from strength to strength, bringing automated payments to thousands of businesses across the UK, Australasia and Canada. We’re delighted to now bring these capabilities to the US. As a market with a payment culture historically ingrained in card processing and paper checks, we’re excited to bring small businesses in the US a better way to collect their payments. With GoCardless, they can escape high fees, delayed payments, and that real pain of getting paid.”

The opportunity for businesses in the US is exciting, with 60% of B2B payments there still taken by paper checks1. But now, with GoCardless, there’s a huge opportunity.

Businesses can pull payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts, at a lower cost than credit cards and without the overhead and burden of cash and checks.

And customers want this too. 13.4 billion Direct Debit payments took place in the US in 20182 – a figure growing by more than a billion per year. And as many as 42% of US businesses are likely to make their next recurring payment by Direct Debit3 – another figure projected to grow, with Direct Debit expected to become the most widely used B2B payment method by 20204.

Craig Walker, Co-founder and EGM Payments & Billing Solutions at Xero, said “Xero is committed to working with partners like GoCardless to help small businesses better manage their payments. GoCardless helps small businesses leverage the massive opportunity that recurring payments presents, by collecting payments consistently and on time. Doing so means that small businesses can get paid more quickly, helping to manage their cash flow and unlock insights that they and their accountants can use to better understand what’s happening inside their business, and plan for long-term growth.”

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