GoCardless 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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GoCardless is the payment provider businesses use to collect Direct Debit and bank payments. This guide covers your user login to the GoCardless dashboard. People who only pay a business through GoCardless have no login and should ask that business for help (GoCardless).
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional for each user unless an administrator has switched on enforcement for the whole account. You can get the second code by text message or from an authenticator app, and GoCardless recommends the app (GoCardless). The steps below use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the GoCardless steps come from GoCardless's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026, both as web pages and through the help center's public article feed. We haven't tested them on a GoCardless account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
GoCardless now belongs to Mollie, but its help center says the dashboard works as before (GoCardless).
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
GoCardless describes these steps (GoCardless):
- Sign in to your dashboard and click Settings.
- Choose User settings.
- Scroll down to the 2-factor authentication section and click Set up with an authenticator app.
- GoCardless shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. If the dashboard is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, then tap + and Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If you'd rather type it, GoCardless also gives a secret key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, put "GoCardless" under Service, and paste the key into Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the six-digit code Novaz shows into the field GoCardless gives you, then click Submit.
GoCardless then creates a recovery code. Every user on the account sets up 2FA separately, on their own device (GoCardless).
Your recovery code
GoCardless's pages mention one recovery code, not a list. Entering it at sign-in gets you past the code check and turns 2FA off at the same time (GoCardless). After using it, set 2FA up again.
Without a Novaz backup, its keys are only on your iPhone, and even with one the recovery code is worth keeping. Keep it in a password manager or on paper, not only on that phone. More in 2FA backup codes.
When GoCardless asks for a code
The code comes right after your email and password. When you enter it, you can tick Remember me for 14 days, and GoCardless won't ask again for 14 days. If you sign out from the settings menu, though, you'll need a code the next time you sign in (GoCardless).
If your account enforces 2FA
Administrators can make 2FA mandatory for everyone: Settings, then Team, then Enforce 2FA, confirmed with a password and an authenticator code. The warning window is blunt: "2FA will be enforced permanently - This action cannot be undone." After that, every user is asked to set up 2FA at their next sign-in and can't skip it (GoCardless). An older FAQ page still calls enforcement a future feature; the newer page above is the one to follow.
If your company has set up single sign-on and made it the only way in, GoCardless switches off its own password and 2FA sign-in, and securing sign-in becomes your identity provider's job (GoCardless).
If GoCardless rejects your code
GoCardless's troubleshooting comes down to a few checks (GoCardless):
- Enter the code that's on screen now. Codes change about every 30 seconds.
- Make sure your phone's date and time are correct and set automatically. On iPhone: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off.
- Check that you're reading the GoCardless entry, for the right login, if you have more than one.
Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
GoCardless links to transfer guides for some other authenticator apps but describes no device switch in its own settings. If you use Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, restore your accounts on the new iPhone and you're done. Otherwise, while you still have the old phone, turn 2FA off (below), set it up again on the new one, and save the new recovery code. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Try these in order:
- Your recovery code. Enter it at sign-in. It gets you in and switches 2FA off (GoCardless).
- An administrator on your account. On the team page under Settings, they click your name, then Reset 2FA (GoCardless).
- GoCardless Support. If you're the only user, or neither option works, raise a ticket. Support runs a short identity check to confirm you're a registered user, then temporarily turns off 2FA on your profile so you can sign in and set it up again (GoCardless). GoCardless doesn't list the proof it asks for or say how long this takes.
More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
Go to your settings page, find the 2-factor authentication section, and click Disable. Enter your password and a current six-digit code, then click Submit (GoCardless). Once it's off, open the GoCardless entry in Novaz and tap Remove account.
