Automatic payment processing allows businesses to easily collect all outstanding payments from their customers at the end of each pay period. Customers who are enrolled in an auto payment system may have multiple outstanding invoices of various amounts charged at different times throughout the period, but will all be automatically paid at the end of a payment cycle.

Recurring billing, on the other hand, allows businesses and customers to select specific dates on which the same bill will be repetitively charged. These types of automatic payments are customizable and more closely resemble a subscription model.