Billing and B2B invoicing company GoCardless has announced that it is launching a global network designed specifically for borderless recurring payments. The network brings together bank debit systems from around the world and provides a way to collect recurring payments, such as invoices and subscriptions, regardless of where the customer is located.

The company says that the network will transform it from a collection of national and regional bank debit schemes into a truly borderless network. A big part of making the network fully borderless is the ability to collect payments across multiple bank debit schemes and countries into a single bank account, through a single interface. As part of building the global network, GoCardless has been working TransferWise, who will power the foreign exchange (FX) capability within the global network, thereby allowing funds to be settled in the customer’s home currency. 

“GoCardless shares our passion for bringing fairness and transparency to the business banking sector," said Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of TransferWise. "With GoCardless customers trading internationally in over 30 countries, giving them the ability to collect payments in currencies all over the world is a major step change for businesses trading across borders.” 

The new network is designed to provide an automated way to collect international payments, without having to rely on the card networks or manual push-based mechanisms such as international bank transfers. GoCardless are now able to settle payments directly into the bank account of the client, in their home currency, across any of the 30 countries it currently covers. The company says that those countries account for over 70% of global recurring payments volume.

The network was designed around the following three principles:

1. Creating a simple way to collect payments, by bringing together geographically fragmented schemes that the banks have historically restricted access to.
2. Providing a much more predictable way to collect payments, by creating a pull-based mechanism that gives businesses more control and visibility over cash flows.
3. Pricing the service in a transparent way that avoids hidden fees that are typically associated with FX conversion. The partnership with TransferWise is designed to ensure the ‘real’ FX rate is provided for every transaction.