Implementation Guide for Oracle Self-Service E-Billing > About Payment Processing >

About Recurring Payments

Oracle Self-Service E-Billling provides two types of recurring payments for check and credit card:

• A recurring payment. A recurring payment allows a customer to schedule a payment amount that is fixed, for the entire amount due from a bill, or for the minimum amount due from a bill. The payment can be scheduled to be paid on a certain date of the week, month or quarter.
• An automatic payment. An automatic payment allows a customer to schedule a payment of a fixed amount, for the entire amount due from a bill, or for the minimum amount due from a bill, to be made a certain number of days before due date. Automatic payments of the entire amount due can also be made, if the amount due is less than a specified amount.

Both recurring and automatic payments are designated as recurring payments by the NACHA 2009 specification. NACHA 2009 defines a payment as recurring when the account manager (Oracle Self-Service E-Billling) keeps the account information (in a database).

Recurring payments can be modified or cancelled at any time before the payment is scheduled.

Recurring payment allows a customer to make payments automatically, based on the amount and pay date. There are five kinds of recurring payments:

• (Minimum) amount due and before due date, for example, pay the entire amount due two days before the due date.
• (Minimum) amount due and fixed pay date, for example, pay minimal amount due on day 31 of each month.
• Fixed amount and before the due date, for example, pay $100 one day before the due date.
• Fixed amount and fixed pay date, for example, pay $100 on the first day of each month.
• (Minimum) amount due up to a fixed amount, and send email if over that fixed amount.

Amount defines how much the recurring payment is going to pay for each payment. The amount can be fixed, amount due or minimum amount due. If the amount is (minimum) amount due, then it must be indexed by the Composer. The name and format of the (minimum) amount due must be specified in the Payment Settings topic of the Command Center.

Pay date defines when each payment is going to be cleared (money transfers). Pay date can be fixed or before due. If it is before due, then the due date must be indexed by the Composer. The name and format of the due date must be specified in the Payment Settings topic of the Command Center.

For monthly payments, if day 29, 30, or 31 is selected, and that day does not exist for a particular month, the pay date defaults to the last day of that month. For example, specifying day 31 of each month ensures that payments are made at the last day of each month.

For weekly payments, the week starts on Sunday. For example, day 1 of each week means Sunday.

The effective period defines when a recurring payment starts and ends. A payment is made if its pay date is within the effective period (inclusive). If the pay date is after the end date of the effective period, the recurring payment is deactivated. By default, a recurring payment only starts tomorrow. This is done so that all bills that arrive up to and including today are considered paid, so recurring payment must not pay these bills a second time.

There is also a script that can be run after installation that prevents a bill from being paid twice. For more information about that script, see Installation Guide for Oracle Self-Service E-Billing.

After an end-customer creates a recurring payment, that customer is not permitted to change the payment amount from fixed to (minimum) amount due, or to change the pay date from fixed to before due date, or conversely. When a recurring payment starts (which is when the first recurring payment has been made), the start date of the recurring payment cannot be modified.

CAUTION:  Recurring payment supports only one customer account for each biller. Recurring payment does not support multiple customer accounts with a single biller.

The next topic provides examples for the first four recurring payment types. The topic after that explains how to test those payment types.