Case Study: Startle International achieves automated, branded Direct Debits and fewer payment queries with GoCardless

Consistent branding with reduced payment queries and fewer chargebacks

Startle International, a 15-person provider of in-venue digital experiences for retail and hospitality, needed to replace a paper-based Direct Debit system and manual imports with a modern, automated payments solution that offered better visibility, APIs and consistent branding. They chose GoCardless, adopting GoCardless Plus for statement branding and the GoCardless for Xero integration to replace their previous Direct Debit provider, EaziPay.

GoCardless implemented branded Direct Debits, handled a four-week migration from EaziPay, and integrated collections and reconciliation into Xero, enabling full automation and real-time cashflow visibility. As a result, Startle is 100% automated, saves about three days of admin per month, routes roughly 25% of revenue through Direct Debit, and has reduced payment queries and chargebacks—supporting growth without adding costs.

Startle International

Adam Castleton

Operations Director