GoCardless anvil integration automates payments for telcos and MSPs

GoCardless and anvil have announced a partnership that connects anvil’s billing platform directly to the GoCardless payment network, bringing automated bank payment collection to telecom operators and managed service providers. The GoCardless anvil integration is designed to reduce manual payment setup, invoice reconciliation and failed-payment follow-up for businesses with recurring billing cycles.

GoCardless described itself as a bank payment company, while anvil operates an all-in-one business management and billing platform for telecom and IT businesses. The companies said the integration lets users handle customer payment authorisation, bill-run collections and payment status updates without moving into a separate GoCardless portal.

How does the GoCardless anvil integration work?

The payment process begins at the point of order, according to the companies. A customer enters bank details and approves a Direct Debit as part of an electronic contract, after which anvil sends the information to GoCardless so a customer profile and payment mandate can be created for future collections.

A Direct Debit mandate is an instruction that allows authorised payments to be collected from a customer’s bank account. In this case, the companies said the mandate is created during contract signing, which removes the need for staff to type the same payment data into a separate system later.

After a bill run is completed in anvil, users can submit one request that sends the collection instructions to GoCardless and marks the related invoices as paid inside anvil, according to the announcement. GoCardless then handles collection through its network.

The integration also covers failed payments. GoCardless said its AI-powered tool, Success+, automatically retries payments that do not go through. If money still cannot be collected, anvil receives a notification and can update its records, giving credit control teams a current view of paid and outstanding bills.

Why telcos and MSPs are the target market

Telecom operators and managed service providers often rely on recurring billing across customer contracts, service packages and account changes. The companies said the integration is intended for that operating model, where delays in collections or errors in invoice status can create additional administrative work.

Tom Metcalfe, director of global partnerships at GoCardless, said complex billing cycles and manual follow-up on failed payments can consume resources for telcos and MSPs. He said the link between GoCardless and anvil connects contract signing with automated payment collection, with the aim of helping businesses receive revenue faster, reduce back-office errors and give customers an easier payment route.

James Shraga, sales and partnerships director at anvil, said the company’s platform is built to cover sales, CRM, operations and ticketing, billing and rating for telecoms resellers. He said the GoCardless partnership adds payments to that workflow, with Direct Debit setup taking place when the customer signs a contract and collections being triggered when a bill run is completed.

Shraga said missed-payment information is returned into anvil so credit control teams can act from within the same platform. The companies positioned the arrangement as an end-to-end process, from contract signature to collected payment, inside the system customers already use to manage their business.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.