---
title: "Pre-Authorized Debit Canada"
description: "Accept Pre-Authorized Debit Canada (PADs Canada) payments with your online payments integration."
url: "https://docs.adyen.com/payment-methods/pad"
source_url: "https://docs.adyen.com/payment-methods/pad.md"
canonical: "https://docs.adyen.com/payment-methods/pad"
last_modified: "2026-06-01T15:33:15+02:00"
language: "en"
---

# Pre-Authorized Debit Canada

Accept Pre-Authorized Debit Canada (PADs Canada) payments with your online payments integration.

[View source](/payment-methods/pad.md)

**Read more**

Learn about payments in Canada on the [Payments Canada](https://www.payments.ca) website.

Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) is a popular payment method used in Canada as an alternative to credit and debit cards. A PAD involves a shopper giving a business permission to withdraw funds from their bank account. PADs are often used for recurring payments, such as monthly subscriptions, utility bills, or membership fees. One-off payments are supported too, but due to the risk of chargebacks, we do not recommend using PADs for one-off payments.

The payments are processed through the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS), which is an electronic network provided by [Payments Canada](https://www.payments.ca) for processing financial transactions.

To accept PADs, you must have a registered business entity in Canada.

| Payment type | Payment flow | Countries | Currencies | [Recurring](/online-payments/tokenization)                   | [Refunds](/online-payments/refund)                           | [Partial refunds](/online-payments/refund/#refund-a-payment) | [Multiple partial refunds](/online-payments/refund)          | [Separate captures](/online-payments/capture) | [Partial captures](/online-payments/capture/#partial-capture) | [Multiple partial captures](/online-payments/capture/#multiple-partial-captures) | [Chargebacks](/risk-management/chargeback-guidelines)        |
| ------------ | ------------ | --------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Direct Debit | Direct       | CA        | CAD        | ![checkmark](/user/data/smileys/emoji/white_check_mark.png)  | ![checkmark](/user/data/smileys/emoji/white_check_mark.png)  | ![checkmark](/user/data/smileys/emoji/white_check_mark.png)  | ![checkmark](/user/data/smileys/emoji/white_check_mark.png)  | ![x](/user/data/smileys/emoji/x.png)          | ![x](/user/data/smileys/emoji/x.png)                          | ![x](/user/data/smileys/emoji/x.png)                                             | ![checkmark](/user/data/smileys/emoji/white_check_mark.png)  |

## Getting a mandate from the shopper

Before you can initiate a PAD, regardless of whether it is a one-off payment or a recurring payment, you must get a mandate (consent) from the shopper and save it in your system. This mandate is called a PAD agreement. It is your responsibility to obtain the PAD agreement.

At a minimum, the PAD agreement must include:

* Your business contact information.
* The date of acceptance of the PAD agreement.
* The type of PAD: personal or business.
* A statement, accepted or signed by the shopper, that the shopper agrees your business is authorized to debit the specified bank account.
* The details of the bank account to be debited.
* Payment schedule or triggers.
* If you are going to issue a PAD immediately after the PAD agreement is accepted: a statement that the shopper waives the confirmation period.
* If you are not going to send pre-notifications for PADs: a statement that the shopper waives pre-notification.
* Information about the right to get a refund of unauthorized debits. The exact text is prescribed by Payments Canada.
* Information about how to cancel the agreement.
* A statement that PADs will be processed by Adyen.

For the details, see Payments Canada's [Rule H1, Pre-Authorized Debits (PADs)](https://www.payments.ca/sites/default/files/h1eng.pdf)

## Chargebacks

Canadian Pre-Authorized Debits do not have real-time authorizations. This means there is a risk of transactions being reversed if, for example, the bank account has insufficient funds. Other reasons why PAD payments are reversed include:

* Shoppers can initiate a chargeback up to 90 days from the initial date of the direct debit on personal accounts and 10 days on business accounts.
* The customer's banking details are outdated or incorrect. When a bank or credit union identifies that a customer's bank details have changed, Adyen receives a Notification of Change. If you subscribed to [DIRECT\_DEBIT\_NOTICE\_OF\_CHANGE\_NOTIFICATION](https://docs.adyen.com/api-explorer/Webhooks/latest/post/DIRECT_DEBIT_NOTICE_OF_CHANGE_NOTIFICATION) webhooks, Adyen then sends a **eft.notificationOfChange** webhook event with the details. Listen for these webhooks and update the customer's banking details to avoid future chargebacks.

You cannot defend PAD chargebacks. Depending on the [reason code](/payment-methods/pad/api-only#return-reason-codes), it may be allowed to retry the payment.

## How do you want to integrate?

[![This is the web icon.](/user/pages/reuse/image-library/01.icons/web/web.svg?decoding=auto\&fetchpriority=auto)](/payment-methods/pad/web)

###### [Web](/payment-methods/pad/web)

[Use our pre-built UI solutions to add PADs Canada to your website.](/payment-methods/pad/web)

[![This is the API only icon.](/user/pages/reuse/image-library/01.icons/api-only/checkout-api-only.svg?decoding=auto\&fetchpriority=auto)](/payment-methods/pad/api-only)

###### [API only](/payment-methods/pad/api-only)

[Build your own UI for PADs Canada in your website, iOS or Android app.](/payment-methods/pad/api-only)

## See also

* [Online payments](/online-payments/)
* [3D Secure](/online-payments/3d-secure)
* [Capture](/online-payments/capture)
* [Payment methods](/payment-methods)
