SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NICK YOUNGSON / ALPHA STOCK

SET UP AN EASY PAYMENT GATEWAY

DO YOU NEED A QUICK, EASY AND COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO TAKE PAYMENTS ONLINE AND OVER THE PHONE? There are many ways in which your members or stakeholders can make payments for member dues, events registrations and other activities online. With so many payment gateways available it can be a task to choose a provider, as it’s not one size fits all. This How-To is designed to help you identify and implement the most suitable payment gateway for your operational needs. Payment gateways are fantastic way to manage your members’ or stakeholders’ credit card data, ensuring that financial transactions with your organisation are easy and secure. So how do you go about deciding what you need, which provider to choose and how to get it up and running?

THE VERY FIRST STEP IS TO IDENTIFY YOUR NEEDS: Are you looking for simple payment options to take credit card payments over the phone? Most payment gateway providers allow you to manually enter credit cards for payment, however this is not best practice. This method is generally considered insecure, carries privacy implications, and comes with a higher fraud risk. It can also result in double handling, meaning a loss of productivity for staff or volunteers. Are you looking for a payment option that integrates with your website, or a hosted service? An integrated service sits within your website and allows people to make payments directly on the same page as the product, membership or service they are purchasing. A hosted service takes people away from your website to process payment. There are pros and cons to this approach: a hosted service can add an extra level of security, but people may not trust a page that has taken them away from your website. Do you use finance software? If so are you looking to integrate with your accounting system, creatinga seamless interaction that matches data and automatically emails a tax invoice, or are you happy with reconcile payments manually once they come into your account? The fully integrated approach is preferred and though it may cost some money to originally set up, it will save a lot of hassle and time in the long run. Before choosing a provider ensure the gateway is compatible with your finance system. Do you only want to collect credit card payments, or would you like accept other forms of payment like EFTPOS (debit card)? Do you need accept currency other than Australian dollars? Do you need to connect the gateway to a ‘Shopping Cart’ like Shopify, neto or PrestaShop? A shopping cart is needed if you want to sell items like books or other materials through your website or to setup a completely separate online store SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AUSTRALIA CHOOSING A PROVIDER: Providers vary in service, complexity of set-up, cost, and contracts, so it’s best to compare. No provider fits all needs, so you may have to compromise to get the gateway that works best for your organisation. With some providers you may need to apply for a merchant account (a special bank account to accept payments). If you already have a merchant account, that’s great, but if you haven’t got one, be prepared for a process that often takes weeks and carries a high decline rate. Providers who require this include BPay, NAB, ANZ, and eWAY. You should also consider the settlement time, that is the time that it takes from the payment being made to the money landing in your account. Some providers payout within 2 – 5 business days. Others allow you to set your own payment schedules, such as a lump sum every fortnight, for example. Settlement time must work for your organisation, as small, frequent settlements can become an administrative burden, especially if the person managing your finances only works occasionally. Also keep in mind that it’s not all about the fee, so don’t decide on the service you will go with on price alone Some services for example offer mobile payments, recurring/subscription billing and fraud protection as part of their general packages while others at a lower prince may not. It’s worth visiting ChargeBee, which has a comparison chart to quickly compare most of the payment gateway providers in Australia.

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED, AND YOU’VE CHOSEN A PROVIDER - NOW WHAT? If you are looking at any form of website integration you will need some basic HTML coding skills and also an understanding of PCI security standards. Also, is it worth noting that when it comes to data collection and privacy, technically the payment gateway is collecting the data not the organisation receiving the payment. Therefore, each payment gateway will have their own privacy agreement that the purchaser will have to agree to. I would be wise to review the providers privacy policies before making any decisions. Many of the providers such as Stripe and eWay hhave quick start guides to help you set up, with copy and paste coding. They also have guides for setting up subscriptions, which is handy if any of your members want to sign up for an auto-recurring membership. IF YOU DON’T HAVE THESE SKILLS IT IS BEST TO CONTACT A DEVELOPER WHO CAN DO A ONE-OFF INTEGRATION.

NOW TO TALK TO YOUR ACCOUNTING SERVICE If you are using cloud-based software such as , that is compatible with most payment gateways, this step is very easy. A few clicks and you will be able to set up for providers like eWay or Stripe for example. Other software like MYOB, Quickbooks Online, Sage, NetSuite may only be compatible with select payment gateways, so be sure to check which payment gateways support your software before making a final decision. You should now be able determine your needs, choose the best suited payment gateway provider, integrate payments with your website and accounting system, and most importantly, take payments from members, sponsors and other stakeholders. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: • Australian Payment Gateways: smoothing the path between your business and your revenue • Square, PayPal, Stripe, Shopify, Pin Payments, Eway, and securePay Compared and Reviewed • The best payment gateway comparisons and resources to help you choose the right solution • Payment gateway integration options for start-ups in Australia • Example of how to get started with Stripe • How to protect your online business against credit card fraud

WOULD YOU LIKE MORE ASSISTANCE WITH THIS TOPIC OR ANY OTHER? IF SO, PLEASE REACH OUT AND WE WILL PUT YOU IN TOUCH WITH THE RELEVANT STA TEAM MEMBER. EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: 02 6257 2891.