# Migrating existing Australia BECS direct debit mandates to Stripe

If you already accept Australia BECS Direct Debit payments and hold valid Direct Debit Requests (DDRs) from your customers, you can migrate their payment details to Stripe without asking them to enter their bank details or authorize the payments again. Stripe creates replacement DDRs that represent the agreement your customers already authorized.
You must notify customers about the migration at least **30 days before their first debit through Stripe**. This migration notice is separate from mandate-confirmation and debit-notification emails.
## 1. Prepare your Stripe account and request the migration
Set up your Stripe account and enable Australia BECS Direct Debit in your [payment method settings](https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/payment_methods). Complete any additional verification prompted by the Dashboard and test your payment integration before switching existing customers to Stripe.
Request an export of your customer and AU BECS payment data from your previous processor. Then sign in to the Stripe account receiving the data and submit the [data migration request form](https://support.stripe.com/contact/email?topic=migrations). Specify that you're importing AU BECS payment data from another processor. If you need higher transaction or weekly processing limits, include that in your request.
The Stripe Data Migrations team coordinates the import with you and your previous processor. You don't need to build your own API-based import. See [Import payment data to Stripe](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/data-migrations/pan-import) for the full process.
## 2. Notify your customers at least 30 days before their first Stripe debit
Send each affected customer a migration notice that:
- Explains that you're moving payment processing to Stripe and updating their existing DDR and Direct Debit Request Service Agreement (DDRSA).
- Includes a link to the [new DDRSA](https://stripe.com/au-becs-dd-service-agreement/legal).
- Explains that they don't need to provide their bank details or authorize a new mandate for the migration. Customers can still cancel their mandate.
- Explains when you expect to start collecting payments through Stripe, any changes to the name or reference on their bank statement, and any changes to the payment emails they receive.
You are responsible for sending this notice whether Stripe's mandate-confirmation and debit-notification emails are enabled or disabled.
Enabling Stripe emails doesn't replace the 30-day migration notice. Schedule the first Stripe debit for each customer at least 30 days after you notify them; the notice period is measured against the first debit, not the data import date.
## 3. Configure mandate-confirmation and debit notifications
The AU BECS scheme advises notifying customers when a mandate is established and each time you debit their account. Stripe sends these emails automatically by default.
Before the import, decide whether to use Stripe's emails or send your own notifications:
- **Use Stripe emails:** Check your [Dashboard email settings](https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/emails) and provide customer email addresses in the migration data.
- **Send your own notifications:** Turn off the corresponding Stripe emails in your [Dashboard email settings](https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/emails). Arrange your own mandate-confirmation and debit notifications. Include a link to the mandate in the confirmation. For a custom debit-initiation email, your integration can use the `payment_intent.processing` event as its trigger.
A debit notification should include:
- The last four digits of the customer's bank account.
- The amount you plan to debit.
- The planned debit date.
- Your contact information.
The AU BECS guidelines recommend sending debit notices at least 14 calendar days before creating a payment, but this timing isn't mandatory. Stripe's default pre-debit email is sent the day before the account is debited. If you want to give 14 days' advance notice yourself, schedule it before creating the payment rather than waiting for the payment-processing event. For recurring payments of the same amount, one notice can cover multiple upcoming debits and their dates.
This debit-notice guidance doesn't change the mandatory 30-day migration notice. See [AU BECS debit notification emails](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/au-becs-debit#debit-notification-emails).
## 4. Transfer your data securely
Ask your previous processor to prepare the export using the [AU BECS import requirements](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/data-migrations/payment-method-imports?payment-methods=becs). Required fields include the old customer ID, account holder's name, bank account number, six-digit BSB number, and email address.
If the customers already exist in Stripe, provide their Stripe customer IDs so the imported payment methods can be attached to those customers rather than creating duplicates. If any customers don't have email addresses, explain this and your planned notification method in your migration request before preparing the file.
Follow the Data Migrations team's secure-transfer instructions. Sensitive data files must be encrypted with Stripe's PGP key and uploaded through SFTP. Don't send bank details or unencrypted customer data by email.
## 5. Review and approve the import
Stripe reviews the data and sends you a validation summary. Check the summary, resolve any data issues, and approve the import. After the import, Stripe provides a mapping file linking your previous processor's IDs to the Stripe customer and payment method IDs.
Update your integration with those IDs and verify that each customer's payment method is associated with the correct customer.
## 6. Switch payment collection to Stripe
Before initiating a customer's first debit through Stripe, confirm that:
- The import is complete and your integration uses the imported payment method.
- At least 30 days have passed since you sent the customer's migration notice.
- Your selected mandate-confirmation and debit-notification process is configured.
- You have coordinated the switch with your previous processor so the same payment isn't collected twice.
Importing payment methods doesn't import subscriptions or billing schedules. If you also need to move subscriptions, follow the [subscription migration guide](https://docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/import-subscriptions) and coordinate cancellation of the previous subscriptions with activation of the Stripe subscriptions to avoid duplicate billing.