Direct Debit with Nequi

Direct Debit with Nequi for Collections is a Cobre capability that enables businesses to collect funds via Direct Debit by allowing payers to securely link their Nequi account once through a consent flow. After the payer approves the linking, businesses can initiate subsequent real-time debits without requiring payer confirmation for each transaction, reducing friction and improving conversion rates.
This feature is available through API and Portal, and is designed for recurring or repeat collections where a seamless pay-in experience is critical.

1. What Cobre Enables with Nequi Tokenization for Direct Debit Collections

With this feature, Cobre enables businesses to:

Collect funds from Nequi accounts using a Direct Debit with Consent model

Perform a one-time account linking (tokenization) that authorizes future debits

Execute real-time debits without repeating the consent flow on every collection

Support collections from payers represented as counterparties (individual or business profile structures)

Track collection readiness through clear Direct Debit Registration statuses

Receive real-time operational updates through subscription events for registration lifecycle changes

Improve collection success rates and reduce drop-off for frequent payers

2. Nequi Tokenization in the Cobre Model

Nequi tokenization fits into Cobre’s pay-ins ecosystem through three core building blocks:

Counterparties represent the payer and store the information needed to request authorization and collect funds.

Direct Debit Registrations (DDR) represent the payer’s consent and authorization to allow debits from their Nequi account.

Money Movements (Direct Debit) represent the actual debit collection initiated by the business once authorization is in place.

Cobre Balances are where collected funds are credited, and where businesses manage their liquidity.

Transactions provide the financial record of the collection outcome (e.g., credits posted to the balance after successful debits).

This model allows businesses to separate:

Authorization (one-time)

Collection execution (repeatable, real-time)

3. Key Capabilities / Options

Cobre supports a secure linking flow where the payer receives a single push notification in the Nequi app to approve or reject being registered for direct debits.
Once approved, the payer becomes eligible for ongoing debits without re-approving each transaction.

Key behavior

Consent is captured once

Future debits do not require additional payer acceptance

Consent has a defined acceptance window

3.2 Direct Debit Registration (DDR) Lifecycle and Readiness

Direct Debit Registration is the mechanism used to obtain authorization and manage payer eligibility.

Cobre provides clear DDR statuses, including:

Processing: registration is being processed and the payer’s institution is validating consent

Registered: payer is successfully authorized for direct debits

Unregistered: payer is not authorized (or registration was rejected/cancelled/expired)

Failed: registration failed and must be retried

These statuses help businesses determine if a payer is eligible for collections and enable operational decisioning.

3.3 Real-Time Direct Debit Collections Once Registered

Once a payer is registered, businesses can initiate real-time debits using Direct Debit money movements.

Key characteristics:

Debits execute in real time

Payer does not need to re-approve each debit

Collections can be directed into any eligible Cobre Balance in Colombia

This provides a high-conversion pay-in option for businesses with frequent, repeat payers.

3.4 Registration Types (Nequi as the Current Available Option)

Cobre supports registration types that determine which rail is used for debits.
Currently, the functional documentation describes Nequi Direct Debit as the available type.

Nequi Direct Debit characteristics include:

Works under Nequi rails

Requires payer confirmation in Nequi app

Registration acceptance window is time-bound

Debit processing is real-time

Enabled financial institution: Nequi

3.5 Operational Notifications via Subscription Events

To support real-time operational workflows, clients can subscribe to lifecycle events tied to DDR updates.

Supported event themes include:

status processing

status registered

status unregistered

This is useful for:

updating internal payer eligibility status

triggering retries or fallback flows

monitoring onboarding conversion for payer linking

4. Core Concepts and Terminology

Direct Debit with Consent: A direct debit model where the payer authorizes future debits through a consent flow.

Nequi Tokenization: The one-time linking of a Nequi account through payer approval, enabling future debits without re-approval.

Counterparty: The payer entity represented in Cobre, required for registration and debits.

DDR (Direct Debit Registration): The authorization record that confirms a counterparty can be debited.

Registration Status: The state indicating whether a payer is eligible for direct debits.

Direct Debit Money Movement: The execution of a debit collection after authorization is in place.

dd_credit transaction: The credit posted into a Cobre Balance after a successful direct debit collection.

Subscription Events: Notifications that allow businesses to track registration state changes in real time.

5. Speed, Settlement & Reliability

Nequi direct debits are designed to support real-time collection execution once the payer is registered.

Operational timing is driven by two phases:

Registration phase:
Payers have up to 15 minutes to accept or reject the authorization request in Nequi.

Collection phase:
Once registered, debits are processed in real time.

Reliability is strengthened by:

standardized DDR states

subscription events to track status changes

explicit rejection/cancellation/expiration signals that reduce ambiguity and operational rework

6. Typical Business Use Cases

This feature is well suited for:

Ride-hailing and mobility platforms collecting recurring charges

Subscription-based services and recurring billing models

Insurance and lending collections for repeat payers

Marketplaces collecting fees, commissions, or recurring seller charges

Utility-like businesses collecting periodic payments

Any business requiring high conversion and low-friction pay-ins

Nequi tokenization fits particularly well when businesses have repeat payers and want to avoid reintroducing approval friction for each payment attempt.

7. Transactions, Reporting & Reconciliation

Nequi direct debit collections produce clear accounting outcomes:

Each collection is represented as a Direct Debit money movement

Successful collections result in a dd_credit transaction posted into the destination Cobre Balance

For finance and operations teams, this creates:

an auditable trail from authorization → collection → credit

structured reporting of successful collections through transactions

improved reconciliation, since balance credits are tied to direct debit outcomes

This is especially valuable for high-volume businesses that need predictable tracking for thousands of pay-ins per day.

8. Governance, Controls & Auditability

Nequi Tokenization for Collections supports governance by enabling:

Clear eligibility gating: only registered counterparties can be debited

Traceability:

registration attempt history

registration status outcomes

money movement status tracking

Real-time monitoring via subscription events

Risk management through defined failure, rejection, cancellation, and expiration states

Businesses can apply internal control rules such as:

only collecting from payers with successful registration

requiring manual review if repeated failures occur

aligning collection attempts with customer consent and audit requirements

9. Summary — What Cobre Delivers with Nequi Tokenization for Direct Debit Collections

Cobre enables businesses to:

Tokenize Nequi accounts through a one-time consent flow
Collect funds via Direct Debit with Consent without re-approval per debit
Execute real-time debits once counterparties are registered
Track readiness via DDR lifecycle states (processing, registered, unregistered, failed)
Receive real-time registration updates through subscription events
Reconcile collections through dd_credit transactions credited to Cobre Balances

Nequi Tokenization for Collections provides a scalable and low-friction way to run real-time direct debit pay-ins in Colombia, especially for businesses with recurring or repeat payer behavior.

Direct Debit with Nequi

1. What Cobre Enables with Nequi Tokenization for Direct Debit Collections#

2. Nequi Tokenization in the Cobre Model#

3. Key Capabilities / Options#

3.1 One-Time Consent (Tokenization) for Nequi Accounts#

3.2 Direct Debit Registration (DDR) Lifecycle and Readiness#

3.3 Real-Time Direct Debit Collections Once Registered#

3.4 Registration Types (Nequi as the Current Available Option)#

3.5 Operational Notifications via Subscription Events#

4. Core Concepts and Terminology#

5. Speed, Settlement & Reliability#

6. Typical Business Use Cases#

7. Transactions, Reporting & Reconciliation#

8. Governance, Controls & Auditability#

9. Summary — What Cobre Delivers with Nequi Tokenization for Direct Debit Collections#