Payment Methods

Memb.rs allows for both online and offline payment methods to be used within your Members Area.

These are typically configured during the onboarding process, however they can be added or modified at any point in the future.

We will discuss with you the most suitable payment options for your members area, if you would like further clarification on these payment methods please contact us.

Online payment methods are those that provide instant or near instant automated payments.

Offline payment methods can be thought of as payment methods which are manually processed, eg a member makes a booking for an event and selects Cheque, they then complete and post a cheque for the outstanding amount to you, you then submit the cheque to the bank and check your account to see that the cheque has cleared.

Admin Only Payment Methods

Memb.rs supports payment methods that are only visible in the Memb.rs admin portal, not in the members area. This is useful if you wish to only allow members to use Stripe but need the functionality to record payments in the admin that may be made by BACS or cheque.

Please specify these payment methods to us and we will configure the payment options accordingly.

Online Payment Methods

Memb.rs currently supports Stripe and GoCardless for online payment methods.

Stripe

Stripe allows for you to accept instant and subscription based payments by credit or debit cards, directly within your Members Area.

NOTE: For some UK Companies who do not have a Letter of Registration or similar document that Stripe requires due to the age of the Company, you may need to contact the Privy Council to provide Stripe with a registration number.

Contact details can be found here

Stripe payments are instant and supports secure payments from all major credit and debit cards without requiring the member to have an existing account with Stripe.

Stripe fees are competitive with other payment providers, details are shown at the link below:

https://stripe.com/gb/pricing

Once a member has paid using Stripe then their profile is linked to their Stripe customer ID, allowing for the card to be saved for future payments:

NOTE: Only the details required for creating and referencing the payment are saved within Memb.rs, such as the Stripe payment ID, no other details are stored within Memb.rs.

Stripe Transaction Process

When the member pays by a card using Stripe the payment is handled by Stripe itself, the card entry field shown above is generated by Stripe.

 

When a member adds their card details and makes the booking then Stripe creates a customer record within Stripe to handle and record the transaction.

 

Stripe then saves and encrypts the card details, and Memb.rs stores only the customer ID of the member that Stripe gives to us against the members profile in the database, as well as the unique payment ID for the actual transaction, so that the payment status can be checked.

 

When the member next goes to make a booking or payment, the Stripe card payment box gets their customer ID and matches it to the one in Stripe, and if it has a valid payment method already then it offers this as the payment card.

 

The card can be removed from Stripe in the customer record, although Stripe by default will offer the previously used card as an option each time, Stripe does this as a way of streamlining the payment process for a customer.

GoCardless

GoCardless supports one-off and automated recurring payments, such as for subscriptions/quarterage.

For a member to make a payment (such as for an event) then they must have created a mandate.

GoCardless has 3 tiers of accounts, Standard, Plus and Pro, as shown at the link below:

https://gocardless.com/pricing/

Typically, the Standard account is most used by our existing clients, however this tier does not support some features for automating member sign-up and payments.

Standard

If a member has not created a mandate then they will be given a unique link to your customer signup form which they must complete.

A typical mandate form is shown below, however the company information will be unique to you.

This process is now fully automated, once the member has completed the mandate form they will be taken back to the members area, with their GoCardless customer ID being added against their account automatically.

Once added the member will then see the option to use their chosen bank details to pay by GoCardless, as shown below:

NOTE: Only the details required for creating and referencing the payment are saved within Memb.rs, such as the customer ID, no other details are stored within Memb.rs.

Of Stripe and GoCardless, we typically recommend using Stripe as it does not require a member to create a mandate and they can make payments straight away.

Offline Payment Methods

Offline payment methods refer to more traditional methods that members may wish to make a payment.

These can include:

• Bank Transfer (BACS)
• Cheque
• Cash

Each Offline payment method can be customised with details for how the member should process the payment, such as bank account and sort code, or whom to make a cheque payable to.

Shown below are examples of Bank Transfer and Cheque payment options:

When a member chooses and makes a transaction selecting an offline payment method the transaction is shown as Pending within the administrative area and the members Payments page.

Once the payment has been received and cleared then the transaction should be updated in the system to reflect that the transaction is complete, this will then update the system to show the status of Completed.

This can be done from either their Transactions tab in their profile, or from within the Event booking details, Donation details or Order details by using the Update button.

When a member makes a payment, such as for an event or shop purchase, the confirmation email that they receive will show the payment details and the information for how to complete the payment at the bottom if they selected an offline method: