# Anatomy

Source: https://docs.gocardless.com/docs/api-reference/anatomy

# Anatomy

The following state diagrams explain the flows of mandate setup and payment creation. There's also a short section on how timings work per scheme.

## Mandate setup

![Mandate setup flow](/images/api-reference/mandate-setup@2x-rebrand.png)

## Payment creation

![Payment creation flow](/images/api-reference/payment-creation@2x-rebrand.png)

## Timing by scheme

Direct Debit payments don't process instantly and work differently from card payments. Timings vary by scheme — expand the relevant one below.

> **Tip:**
> You can still test all schemes as if they were instant. See [Scenario
>   Simulators](/docs/developer-resources/scenario-simulators) for details.

  
### Bacs (UK)

- **Mandate already in place:** collected 2 working days after submission, 95% confirmed after 3 working days, 100% confirmed after 4 working days.
- **Mandate also needs to be created:** add 2 working days to each of the above.

Customers must be notified at least **3 working days** before payment leaves their account.

[Detailed UK timings →](https://gocardless.com/direct-debit/timings/)

  
### ACH (US)

- Standard ACH: **4–5 business days**.
- Faster ACH via GoCardless: **2–3 business days**.

[Detailed ACH timings →](https://hub.gocardless.com/s/article/United-States-ACH-payment-timings)

  
### Autogiro (Sweden)

- New mandates take up to **6 interbank business days** before payments can be submitted under them.
- Submit all payment collections **2 interbank business days** before the payment due date.

Customers must be notified at least **8 working days** in advance.

[Detailed Autogiro timings →](https://gocardless.com/guides/bg-autogiro/)

  
### BECS (Australia)

- Submit all payment collections **1 interbank business day** before the payment due date.

[Detailed BECS timings →](https://gocardless.com/guides/becs-direct-debit/timings/)

  
### BECS NZ (New Zealand)

- Submit all payment collections **2 interbank business days** before the payment due date.

[Detailed BECS NZ timings →](https://gocardless.com/guides/becs-nz/timings/)

  
### Betalingsservice (Denmark)

- New mandates must be created at least **1 working day** before payments can be created.
- Submit collections **8 working days before the end of the month** preceding the target payment month.

[Detailed Betalingsservice timings →](https://gocardless.com/guides/betalingsservice/betalingsservice-timings/)

  
### PAD (Canada)

- Submit all payment collections **3 interbank business days** before the payment due date.

[Detailed PAD timings →](https://gocardless.com/guides/pad/timings/)

  
### PayTo (Australia)

No advance notice period. Payments can be taken **almost instantaneously**.

  
### Faster Payments (UK)

No advance notice period. Payments can be taken **almost instantaneously**.

  
### SEPA Core (Europe)

- Submit all payment collections **1 interbank business day** before the payment due date.
- Notify customers **2 working days** in advance, or as soon as the payment is created if it's within 2 days of collection.

[Detailed SEPA timings →](https://gocardless.com/guides/sepa/timings/)

## What's next

  
#### [Making Requests](/docs/api-reference/making-requests)

Authentication, versioning, and how to structure every API call.

  
#### [Responses and Errors](/docs/api-reference/responses-and-errors)

HTTP response codes and how to handle each error type.