Each mandate defines:

• The accounts involved
• The frequency or duration of authorization
• The type of debit (fixed or flexible)

• Single Account Mandate: Authorize debits from a single customer account.
• Multiple Account Mandate: Support complex mandates involving multiple accounts.

Mandate Use Cases

Merchants can a create a mandate suitable for their business and requirements in any of the following ways:

1. Fixed Amount Mandates
   The two Mandate Duration instances of this mandate type include:
   1. Open Fixed Mandate: This enables merchants to debit fixed amounts from a customer’s account based on the actual consumption of products or services without a predetermined end date.

      Example: A streaming platform offers a monthly subscription fee to its customers using an open fixed mandate duration to debit funds from the customer’s account every month until the customer cancels their subscription.

   2. Closed Fixed Mandate: This enables merchants to debit fixed amounts from a customer’s account based on the agreed cost of products or services within a defined duration.

      Example: An insurance company offers a one-year health insurance plan with monthly premiums of N10000. The company can use a closed fixed mandate to debit N10000 from the customer’s account each month for 12 months. Then, at the end of the 12-month plan, the mandate expires.

2. Variable Amount Mandates
   The two Mandate Duration instances of this mandate type include:
   1. Open Flexible Mandate: This enables merchants to debit varying amounts from a customer’s account based on the actual consumption of products or services without a predetermined end date.

      Example: A utility company provides electricity vending services to its customers. The bill varies depending on the amount of electricity a customer consumes.. With this, the utility company can set up an open flexible mandate to debit varying amounts from the customer’s account each time based on their demand, with no predetermined end date.

   2. Closed Flexible Mandate: This enables merchants to debit varying amounts from a customer’s account based on the actual consumption of products or services within a defined duration.

      Example: A car dealer offers an instalment payment plan for purchasing a car. Their customers can choose to pay off the total amount at their own pace, but all payments must be completed within 12 months. Per this agreement, the store can use a closed flexible mandate to debit varying amounts from the customer’s account based on the payments they make, ensuring the total amount is paid before the end date.

Working with Mandates

You can create a mandate in two ways, depending on how account details are handled:

1. Initiate Mandate
   You can initiate a mandate using Initiate Mandate API. Mandates can be initiated with or without account details depending on the scenario and can be single or multiple accounts mandate.
2. Verify Mandate
   Check the status of a mandate using our Check Mandate Status API. to confirm a mandate is activated before processing any debit.
3. Debit Mandate
   Once the mandate is active, use Process Debit API to process a debit.
4. Cancel Mandate
   If a mandate needs to be cancelled or deactivated, use Cancel Mandate API to cancel an active mandate.