Administration Guide for Oracle Billing Insight > Recurring Payments >

About Recurring Payments

For checks and credit cards, the Payment module provides two types of recurring payments:

• 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 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 National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) 2009 specification. NACHA 2009 defines a payment as recurring when the account manager keeps the account information in a database.

A user can modify or cancel recurring payments at any time before the payment is scheduled. Recurring payment allows a customer to make payments automatically, depending on the amount and pay date. To configure recurring payments, see pmtCreditCardSubmit Job.

There are several 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 the minimum amount due, then it must be indexed by Oracle Billing Insight. You must specify the name and format of the minimum amount due must be specified on the Payment Settings page in the Command Center.

Pay date defines when each payment is going to be cleared, which is when the money will be transferred. Pay date can be fixed or before due. If it is before due, then the due date must be indexed by Oracle Billing Insight. You must specify the name and format of the due date on the Payment Settings page in the Command Center.

For monthly payments, if day 29, 30, or 31 is selected, and that day does not exist for a particular month, then Oracle Billing Insight uses the last day of that month by default. For example, specifying day 31 of each month ensures that payments are made on 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, then Oracle Billing Insight deactivates the recurring payment. By default, a recurring payment only starts tomorrow, 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.

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 before due date to fixed. 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.