> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.payglocal.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Recurring Payment (SI)

> Standing Instructions — mandate creation, recurring deductions, and full mandate lifecycle management.

## What is a Recurring Payment?

**Recurring payment** is a payment model where customers authorize merchants to charge them automatically for future payments **without requiring authentication every time**.

Instead of asking the customer to manually complete payment during every billing cycle, the customer **approves a mandate once**, and future charges happen automatically based on the configured recurring setup.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="One-Time Setup" icon="user-check" color="#10B981">
    Customer authorizes recurring charges just once during the first payment.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Automatic Billing" icon="clock-rotate-left" color="#1A6FE8">
    Future payments happen automatically without customer intervention.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Common Use Cases

Recurring payments are commonly used for:

* **OTT platforms** (Netflix, Prime Video)
* **EMI payments** (loan installments)
* **Utility bills** (electricity, water, gas)
* **SaaS products** (cloud software subscriptions)
* **Membership plans** (gym, clubs)
* **Insurance premiums** (monthly/quarterly)
* **Auto-recharge systems** (prepaid mobile, wallets)

***

## How Recurring Payments Work

<Steps>
  <Step title="Customer Creates Mandate">
    Customer performs the **first payment** and approves recurring authorization.

    **This creates:**

    * A recurring mandate
    * A stored authorization
    * A unique **Mandate ID**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Merchant Stores Mandate Information">
    Merchant securely stores:

    * **Mandate ID**
    * Customer reference
    * Payment method details
    * Frequency configuration

    This Mandate ID is used for **all future recurring operations**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Future Charges Happen">
    Based on the SI type:

    * **Fixed SI:** PayGlocal automatically debits customer
    * **Variable SI:** Merchant manually triggers charges when required
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## SI Models Supported by PayGlocal

PayGlocal supports **two recurring payment models:**

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Fixed SI — Auto Debit" icon="robot" color="#10B981">
    **Fixed recurring payment** with predefined amount and schedule.

    **Examples:**

    * ₹999 every month
    * ₹499 every week
    * ₹1,200 every quarter

    **Characteristics:**

    * Amount remains **fixed**
    * Frequency remains **fixed**
    * PayGlocal **automatically deducts** payment based on schedule

    **Best for:**

    * OTT subscriptions
    * Gym memberships
    * SaaS subscriptions
    * Fixed EMI plans
  </Card>

  <Card title="Variable SI — On-Demand" icon="hand-pointer" color="#F59E0B">
    **Variable recurring payment** where amount may change for every deduction.

    **Examples:**

    * Electricity bills
    * Water bills
    * Usage-based billing
    * Metered SaaS pricing

    **Characteristics:**

    * Merchant sets a **maximum allowed limit** during setup
    * Deduction does **NOT happen automatically**
    * Merchant must **trigger payment** whenever required

    **Best for:**

    * Utility billing
    * Consumption-based pricing
    * Dynamic invoices
    * Top-ups
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## Fixed SI — Auto Debit

### How It Works

During mandate creation:

1. Merchant defines **fixed recurring amount**
2. Merchant defines **billing frequency**
3. Customer authorizes recurring deductions

**Example:** Customer approves:

* ₹999
* Every month
* Automatically deducted

**Once approved:** PayGlocal automatically charges customer based on configured schedule.

### Auto Debit Frequencies

Supported recurring schedules may include:

| Frequency   | Example                |
| ----------- | ---------------------- |
| `DAILY`     | Charged every day      |
| `WEEKLY`    | Charged every week     |
| `MONTHLY`   | Charged every month    |
| `QUARTERLY` | Charged every 3 months |
| `YEARLY`    | Charged every year     |

### Fixed SI Flow

```
Customer Creates Mandate
        ↓
Merchant Receives Mandate ID
        ↓
PayGlocal Schedules Recurring Charges
        ↓
Automatic Debit Happens
        ↓
Merchant Receives Payment Status Webhook
```

<Note>
  **Merchant does not need to trigger deductions manually** — PayGlocal handles everything automatically based on the configured frequency.
</Note>

***

## Variable SI — On-Demand Deduction

### How It Works

During mandate creation:

1. Merchant defines **maximum allowed amount**
2. Customer approves charging permission up to that limit

<Warning>
  **Important:** Payment is **NOT auto-debited** on schedule. Merchant must **manually initiate** every deduction request by the help of On Demand API.
</Warning>

### When to Use On-Demand Deduction

For charging customer cards in Variable SI, merchant triggers deduction request manually. This is useful when:

* Final amount **changes**
* **Usage-based** billing exists
* Invoice amount **varies**

**Example Use Cases:**

* Electricity bill generated monthly
* Cloud usage billing
* Water bill deduction
* Wallet recharge
* Subscription add-ons
* Consumption-based SaaS pricing

### Variable SI Flow

```
Customer Creates Variable Mandate
        ↓
Merchant Receives Mandate ID
        ↓
Merchant Generates Invoice
        ↓
Merchant Triggers On-Demand Charge
        ↓
Payment Gets Processed
        ↓
Merchant Receives Payment Status
```

<Note>
  **Amount must always remain within approved mandate limit.** If you need to charge more than the maximum limit, you must create a new mandate.
</Note>

***

## Mandate Management

Once a mandate is created, merchants can **manage its lifecycle**.

### Mandate Operations

Merchants can:

* **Pause** recurring deductions temporarily
* **Resume** paused mandates
* **Cancel** mandates permanently
* **Check** mandate status
* **View** deduction history

This gives merchants **complete control** over recurring billing operations.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Pause Mandate" icon="circle-pause" color="#F59E0B">
    Temporarily suspend recurring charges without cancelling the mandate.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Activate Mandate" icon="play" color="#10B981">
    Resume a paused mandate and restart recurring billing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cancel Mandate" icon="ban" color="#EF4444">
    Permanently revoke a mandate — cannot be undone.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## Fixed vs Variable — Quick Comparison

| Feature        | Fixed SI (Auto Debit)            | Variable SI (On-Demand)              |
| -------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| **Amount**     | Fixed amount every cycle         | Variable amount (within max limit)   |
| **Frequency**  | Predefined schedule              | Merchant-triggered                   |
| **Automation** | Fully automatic                  | Manual trigger required              |
| **Deduction**  | PayGlocal handles automatically  | Merchant initiates each charge       |
| **Best For**   | Subscriptions, EMIs, memberships | Utility bills, usage-based billing   |
| **Example**    | ₹999 every month for Netflix     | Electricity bill — varies each month |

***

## Next Steps

Now that you understand how Recurring Payments work, learn how to implement them:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="SI Payment Initiation" icon="paper-plane" href="/merchant/recurring-payment/si-payment-initiation">
    Create a recurring mandate during the first payment.
  </Card>

  <Card title="SI Transaction Management" icon="hand-pointer" href="/merchant/recurring-payment/si-transaction-management">
    Trigger on-demand deductions for Variable SI mandates.
  </Card>

  <Card title="SI Mandate Management" icon="list-check" href="/merchant/recurring-payment/si-mandate-management">
    Pause, activate, or cancel mandates after creation.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>