English Bridge Union
Under the new Pay-to-Play system EBU affiliated clubs are invoiced monthly or bi-monthly. It is advantageous for a club to pay by Direct Debit (DD) since there is a £2 discount per invoice, a good audit trail and the bank's DD guarantee, and last but not least – less work for the Club Treasurer. A club paying by monthly DD will save £24 per annum; bi-monthly it will save £12 per annum.
It used to be costly and difficult for a club to set up a bank account that allowed a club to pay by DD, but in the last few years most banks and building societies have introduced so-called "community accounts". A modern community account should offer a DD facility, along with the usual cheque book and instant access to your club's money, without applying bank charges for cash and cheques, Direct Debits, standing orders, or bill payments made from your account or for credits paid into it.
Spending some time shopping around and taking advice from your local banks and building societies could save your club some money as well as making your banking easier. You should, of course, still check and understand the individual terms and conditions for any bank account very carefully before signing up to it, in case there are any unwelcome clauses in the small print.
