How long does a SEPA Direct Debit payment take?

Usually around two weeks, and up to three weeks around bank holidays. Banks need at least 6 business days to settle a SEPA Direct Debit, and Stripe, our payment processor, adds 3 business days on top. A first debit from a new bank account tends to be at the slow end.

When does my plan start if I pay by SEPA Direct Debit?

When your bank confirms the payment, not when you finish checkout. Until then your dashboard shows the payment as processing and the plan's features are not available yet. Your billing period starts on the day the payment clears, so you still get a full period for what you paid.

FAQ

Paying with SEPA Direct Debit

Q: Can I cancel a SEPA Direct Debit payment that is processing?

No. Once the debit has been submitted, neither you nor we can stop it. Stripe does not allow a payment that is clearing to be cancelled. If you want your plan straight away, pay by card, PayPal, a wallet or iDEAL instead.

A SEPA Direct Debit takes up to three weeks to clear, and a new plan or upgrade paid that way only starts once it has. Once the debit is submitted, it cannot be cancelled.

By the MinecraftAFK Team

SEPA Direct Debit is a bank debit from your IBAN. It is offered on Stripe's checkout page under Card & wallets, and it is the slowest way to pay us by a wide margin. Your plan starts only when the money arrives, which takes up to three weeks, and once the debit is submitted it cannot be cancelled.

If you want your plan straight away, pay by card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay or iDEAL instead. Those confirm within seconds.

How long it takes

Expect around two weeks, and up to three weeks around bank holidays.

Banks need at least 6 business days to settle a SEPA Direct Debit. That is set by the SEPA rules, not by us.
Stripe, our payment processor, adds 3 business days on top while it confirms the payment.
Weekends and bank holidays don't count. Easter and the Christmas to New Year period add several days.
A first debit from a bank account you haven't used with us before tends to be at the slow end.

Neither we nor Stripe can speed it up.

Buying a new plan

Your plan starts when your bank confirms the payment, not when you finish checkout.

Until then your dashboard shows the payment as processing, and the plan's features are not available yet.
Your billing period starts on the day the payment clears, not the day you checked out, so you still get a full period for what you paid.
If the debit fails, nothing is charged and the plan does not start. You can buy again with another method.

Upgrading your plan

If the payment method on your subscription is a bank debit, we don't charge an upgrade to it automatically. You choose how to pay on the next screen instead.

Card or iDEAL: the upgrade applies straight away.
SEPA Direct Debit: you keep your current plan until the payment clears, and you can't change your plan again until it does.

This applies if you originally paid by iDEAL too. After an iDEAL payment, renewals are collected as SEPA Direct Debits, so that is what is saved on your subscription. Paying the upgrade itself by iDEAL is still instant.

Renewals

A renewal paid by SEPA Direct Debit takes just as long to clear. That includes subscriptions you first paid by iDEAL, for the reason above. You keep access while your bank is moving the money, and the dashboard shows the payment as clearing in the meantime. You don't need to do anything, and you shouldn't pay the renewal a second time.

If the renewal debit fails, access stops.

You can't cancel a payment that is processing

Once the debit has been submitted, neither you nor we can stop it. Stripe does not allow a payment that is clearing to be cancelled. This is why we ask you to read this page before choosing SEPA Direct Debit: once you have confirmed it, there is nothing we can do to make it faster.

Failed debits and bank refunds

If a SEPA Direct Debit fails, for example because the account had insufficient funds, or if you reclaim one through your bank, SEPA Direct Debit is no longer offered on your account. Every other payment method keeps working. Contact contact@valoks.com if you think this has been applied to you by mistake.

Your right to reclaim a SEPA Direct Debit from your bank is not affected. See SEPA Direct Debit refunds in our Terms of Service.

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