Every payment moves in one of two directions. Either the customer sends money to you, or you pull money from the customer’s account with their permission. These two directions are called push and pull payments, and knowing which one you are dealing with explains a lot about how a payment method behaves: who starts it, who is in control, and what can go wrong.

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Push payments (credit transfers)

In a push payment, the customer starts the payment and sends the money to you. Because the customer is pushing their own money out, they are in control of when it happens and how much they send. The bank term for this is a credit transfer.

Customer is in control

The customer decides to pay, chooses the amount, and confirms it from their own banking app or checkout.

Good for one-off payments

Push payments suit invoices, checkouts, and any situation where the customer is paying at a moment of their choosing.
Australia’s PayID is a push method: a customer sends a payment to your PayID from their banking app. A plain bank transfer is also a push. In the United States, an ACH credit transfer is a push.

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Pull payments (direct debits)

In a pull payment, you start the payment and collect money from the customer’s account, but only because the customer has given permission ahead of time. The bank term for this is a direct debit. The permission the customer gives is often called a mandate or an agreement.

Business is in control

Once the customer has approved the arrangement, you decide when to collect each payment, within the agreed limits.

Good for recurring payments

Pull payments suit subscriptions, memberships, utility bills, and anything charged on a regular schedule.
Australia’s PayTo is a modern pull method built on real-time rails, where the customer approves the agreement in their banking app. A traditional direct debit is also a pull. In the United States, an ACH debit is a pull.
The key question with any pull payment is who holds the permission. With an older direct debit, the business keeps the signed authorisation. With a newer method like PayTo, the customer’s bank holds the agreement, so the customer can see and cancel it themselves. That shift gives customers far more control.

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Push vs. pull at a glance

If you need a customer to pay you once, use a push method. If you need to collect from a customer regularly, use a pull method with a proper agreement in place. Many businesses use both: a push at signup, then pull for the recurring charges.

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Where this shows up in Hello Clever

Push, done well

In Australia, PayID is Hello Clever’s push method for one-off, customer-initiated payments.

Pull, done well

In Australia, PayTo is Hello Clever’s pull method for recurring payments, with the agreement held by the customer’s bank.