---
page_title: Introduction
product: SmartGateway API Reference (Basic Auth)
page_source: https://smartgateway.hdfc.bank.in/docs/smartgateway-api-ref-basicauth/docs/mandates-subscriptions/introduction
llms_txt: https://smartgateway.hdfc.bank.in/docs/llms.txt
product_llms_txt: https://smartgateway.hdfc.bank.in/docs/smartgateway-api-ref-basicauth/llms.txt
---


# Introduction 



Mandates are standing authorizations on recurring payments used for subscription-based products where the amount is automatically debited from the user's account on a registered payment method at certain intervals. Mandates allow businesses to charge customers on a recurring basis for the product/services offered. The recurring payments may be initiated using SmartGATEWAY APIs as a regular intervals based on your business use case.Two main flows must be implemented for a successful mandate integration: 

1. **Mandate Registration and** 

**2. Mandate Execution** . 

First the mandate registration flow will require the user to provide consent for the mandate and complete a one-time payment. Subsequent debits will happen from users account, once the frequency or time period is reached as outlined in the mandate details.


## Payment Flows



SmartGATEWAY supports mandates on below payment methods:

* UPI Autopay (via UPI Collect and UPI Intent)
* Netbanking (eNach and eMandate) [WIP]
* Cards [WIP]


### Mandate Registration Experience



SmartGATEWAY provides a range of mandate signup experiences which can be invoked based on your business needs

**Required Mandate Setup journey:** 

The user will be presented with only the mandate eligible payment methods. The payment details entered by the user will be validated for eligibility for recurring payments only. In other words, one-time payment methods will not be allowed.

**Optional Mandate Setup journey:** 

The user will be presented all payment methods available with the merchant, including mandate eligible and mandate ineligible payment methods. If the user provides consent, the payment will be processed for the mandate. In other words, the user gets to choose whether to subscribe or perform one-time payment.


### Mandate Recurring Experience



Recurring Payment is a completely API based journey between Merchant and SmartGATEWAY. User will only be notified about upcoming recurring (except in eNACH) and the actual debit. 

A brief comparison between different mandate methods 


| S.No | Autopay Mode | Activation Time  | Rejection Probability | Reasons for Rejection | Maximum Mandate Tenure | ECS charges | Maximum Limit (INR) | PDN sent to User | Available on SmartGATEWAY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UPI Autopay | Instant | Minimum to zero | > Incorrect UPI Pin > Succeeding Daily limit  > UPI Payment link expire > Insufficient Balance in account | 99 Years | Zero | > Max limit 2 lakh/ day > Greater than 15k 2FA required | Yes 24 Hours before | Yes |
| 2 | eNACH | 3-4 days | Low | > Incorrect Authentication details | 30 Years | Varies basis banks but levied if minimum balance is not maintained for Mandate Transaction | 1 Crore | No | WIP |


---

## See Also

- [Payment Locking](https://smartgateway.hdfc.bank.in/docs/smartgateway-api-ref-basicauth/docs/resources/payment-locking)
- [Mandate Integration Architecture](https://smartgateway.hdfc.bank.in/docs/smartgateway-api-ref-basicauth/docs/mandates-subscriptions/mandate-integration-architecture)