Online direct debit provider, GoCardless, has teamed up with membership management software platforms Virtuagym and Glofox to give their customers access to next generation, flexible Direct Debit.

Users of the platforms can now access integrated and automated Direct Debit for the UK, Europe and globally, with a faster customer signup process, flexible collection dates and faster payouts.

While the health and training industry has a long standing history of using direct debit to collect membership fees, traditional solutions have failed to provide the level of flexibility and automation modern fitness business owners need, says Rachel Astall, Head of Partnerships for GoCardless.

"The benefits of Direct Debit are familiar to gym owners – but traditionally they may have felt restricted by rigid collection dates, slow payouts and little transparency into what was happening with their payments – or what they were being charged for," says Astall.

"The modern reality is a fully automated and streamlined experience, that saves users time, optimises collection revenues without the need for aggressive debt recovery, and keeps businesses totally informed about their payments and their fees. This is why we’re seeing such growth in the use of GoCardless among health and fitness businesses."

More than 30,000 businesses worldwide use GoCardless to collect subscription, membership, invoice and installment payments, including Les Mills, the Fitness Space, British Military Fitness, MoveGB, Thomas Cook and the Guardian.

The new Virtuagym and Glofox plugins are the latest in a line of integrations that GoCardless has with fitness member software providers, with others including ClubRight, TeamUp, OpenPlay, Gym Master and Martialytics.