Why are you moving away from card payments?

Card payments work well for one-off purchases, but for recurring subscriptions they create unnecessary friction. Cards expire, get lost or cancelled, and banks sometimes block recurring charges, any of which can cause a payment to fail through no fault of your own. Direct Debit is the standard way UK businesses collect recurring payments, from utility bills to gym memberships, precisely because it's simpler and more consistent. Once set up, your subscription payments happen automatically, without any action needed from you.