The South African Reserve Bank and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority have confirmed that, effective 13 April 2026, the dispute windows for all debit order instruments will be standardised at 60 days.

"This will simplify disputability, especially for service providers using multiple collection instruments," said Pieter Brand, the head of product at Hyphen.

"Prior to this, the rules governing how long a consumer could dispute a debit order varied across different collection instruments." In some cases, consumers had up to a year to challenge a transaction.

This triggered a costly, manual process between the debtor, the debtor's bank, the service provider's bank, and ultimately the service provider to prove the validity of the mandate.

"The creditor would need to locate the original mandate and submit evidence to defend the collection, a process that was both time-consuming and expensive," said Brand.

"The outcome of this process depended on the creditor's ability to match the mandate to the disputed transaction."

Under the new rules, no debit order can be disputed more than 60 days after it was processed. Within that 60-day window, disputes will be fully automated.

An automated dispute means they are processed without giving the service provider an opportunity to present a defence.

The previous automated window was 40 days. The change extends the consumer's ability to dispute without intervention by 50%.

"It is important to note that the various service rules regarding what makes a debit order disputable remain unchanged," said Brand.

"This gives users of DebiCheck a sustained advantage in providing non-disputable collections when used correctly."

DebiCheck is a secure debit order payment system that allows consumers to verify and approve debit orders electronically.

"At its core, the dispute mechanism exists to ensure that consumers have control over debits on their bank accounts, protecting them from any unscrupulous behaviour," said Brand.

"The reform balances the benefit to service providers by shortening the availability of a consumer to dispute, with the rights of the consumer by allowing them an increase in simplified disputes."

Brand said the dispute mechanism has always been a double-edged sword for valid service providers. While it rightly protects consumers, it can also be abused for valid debts.

"This rule change sharpens both edges," he said.

"The challenge is the extended automated dispute window means that, for 60 days, a service provider cannot defend against a dispute, regardless of the validity of the underlying mandate."

This can be a blow to business where the collection amounts were substantial enough to justify the manual task of providing debit order mandate evidence to sponsoring banks.

"However, there are some noteworthy benefits," said Brand.

"With a single, standardised dispute process replacing an array of instrument-specific rules, service providers can simplify and automate their own internal dispute-handling workflows."

Brand argued that the removal of the manual process is an opportune time to automate disputes without the need to cater for exceptions, a perennial source of operational complexity and cost.

"Proactive consumer communication remains the most effective strategy for minimising disputes," he said.

"Service providers that invest in ensuring their customers understand the impact a dispute can have on them and their credit records will be best positioned under the new rules."

Beyond individual businesses, Brand said this reform could reshape the collections landscape in South Africa in several meaningful ways.

"First, by removing the manual processes across the industry, resources can be applied to other areas and reduce the cost of servicing clients," he said.

"In a competitive market, this should result in a decrease of service costs to service providers."

Secondly, the shorter dispute window translates directly into reduced risk exposure for collection providers and sponsoring banks.

"That, in turn, may lead to lower security requirements for collection facilities, freeing up capital for productive use," he said.

"Third, by simplifying the rules and reducing the barriers to entry, this change makes collections more accessible for new service providers entering the collections space, further growing the collections market in South Africa."