Direct debit
A payment where the payee pulls money from the payer's account under a standing authorisation, rather than the payer sending it.
An ordinary transfer is a push: the payer starts it. A direct debit is a pull, so the whole scheme revolves around the mandate that gives the power company or the gym the right to collect. Britain has run Direct Debit through Bacs since the late 1960s, the US does the same with ACH debits, and the eurozone has had SEPA Direct Debit since 2009. In Sweden the service is called Autogiro and is cleared by Bankgirot, with mandates now usually signed with BankID rather than on a paper form mailed to the bank.
Because the payer does not approve each collection, the protection comes afterwards. Under SEPA's core scheme a customer can claw back a debit within eight weeks, no reason required. Merchants like the model because, unlike a card, a bank account doesn't expire, and the fees are low.