Once the Authorize.net account is setup and activated we need what is called the API Login ID, Public Client Key and Transaction key to establish funding with your credit card processor when transactions are processed through the membership splash page/order forms. Follow these steps to activate direct funding into your bank account and configure Authorize.net to recommended settings.
In addition to setting API credentials, there are other settings in Authorize.net we recommend configuring as follows:
Recurring payments (usually monthly) are processed in the early morning. A script detects membership expirations, runs a payment transaction, and if it succeeds, processes the membership renewal. If the payment transaction is declined then there will be no renewal, and the membership expires. Payment processing occurs 3 days prior to membership expiration to allow time for any expired credit cards to rerun or be resolved prior to expiring the membership. This guarantees that payments will be processed and notifications received in advance of membership expiration, with a one-day buffer in case of any system outage or other issue that might delay things by a day. This means if the membership start date is July 15th 2019 for a monthly membership, the membership renewal date will be August 12th, 2019 (3 days early) when the patron's credit card is billed for the 2nd and subsequent time. For example, if a monthly recurring subscription bills May 3rd and processes successfully, the following morning on May 4th, the system will renew the membership and add the Membership Renewal value to the patron's account. If, however, the credit card declines on May 3rd, and is not updated and reprocessed successfully over the next 3 days then on the morning of May 6th, the patron's membership will automatically expire in the host system. Authorized users will need to manually run the membership renewal transaction through a terminal upon resolving the patron's declined card. You can access the Recurring Payments report from REPORTING> Recurring Payments inside the back office dashboard.
Sometimes payment cards on file have to be updated (lost or stolen card, fraud detection, patron canceled card etc.) requiring an update to billing information on file or a cancellation. Auto pay updates can be done anytime in real-time. For auto pay cancelations there is a short lag window since auto-pay renewals are processed 3 days before expiration as a general rule. Membership auto-pay cancel must be done at least 4 days before membership expiration to stop any/all future auto payments. Auto payments cancelled fewer than 4 days before membership expiration will automatically process for the next month. If the membership auto pay cancel is done less than 4 days before membership expiration then, at that point, the membership would already have been renewed, so the expiration would be another month out and the subscription would bill for another month. Once Membership Auto Pay is cancelled, the patron’s membership will automatically cancel at the next expiration date and unload any unredeemed value at that time. Upon expiration, the patron will then automatically roll into the category we refer to as Default (No Membership Class) and no longer be entitled to membership benefits.
Auto Pay membership cancels and credit card account updates can be processed through any of the following ways:
Operators with Admin or Auditor security clearance can regularly monitor the status of recurring payments processed through your online gateway (i.e., Authorize.net) through the REPORTING> Recurring Payments Report. This report publishes all automatic recurring transactions (initial and subsequent) and displays a status column. Payments can decline for a variety of reasons such as expired or maxed credit cards, cancelled cards or occasional system out of synch errors. We recommend management scan this report regularly and look for the blue Fix button that opens a new screen with more details for instructions on how to resolve the error. In order to reduce the instances of declined payments, please enable Automatic Retry and Account Updater directly inside Authorize.net.
In some cases, an authorize.net subscription may exist separately from the patron’s profile inside the marketing platform. This situation most commonly arises when an Authorize.net user adds a subscription manually inside Authorize.net outside of the process of establishing the membership transaction through the membership splash page/checkout form. You can align auto subscriptions existing in your online gateway (Authorize.net) with the patron profile via the Add ARB button available from REPORTING > Recurring Payments.
Selling memberships online requires an Authorize.net account that is connected to your credit card processor (and by extension, your bank account). You do not need to switch credit card processors since every processor integrates with Authorize.net If you don’t have an Authorize.net account, please visit their website at authorize.net or contact your merchant services representative who should be able to assist with setup. In addition to the authorize.net fees you may be assessed an additional upcharge to turn ON the Membership Auto Pay module. You can check whether you have the Membership Auto Pay enabled inside the Feature Dashboard denoted by the green circle. If it’s toggled red, tap to request more information from your sales consultant.
Once the Authorize.net account is setup and activated we need what is called the API Login ID, Public Client Key and Transaction key to establish funding with your credit card processor when transactions are processed through the membership splash page/order forms. Follow these steps to activate direct funding into your bank account and configure Authorize.net to recommended settings.
In addition to setting API credentials, there are other settings in Authorize.net we recommend configuring as follows:
Recurring payments (usually monthly) are processed in the early morning. A script detects membership expirations, runs a payment transaction, and if it succeeds, processes the membership renewal. If the payment transaction is declined then there will be no renewal, and the membership expires. Payment processing occurs 3 days prior to membership expiration to allow time for any expired credit cards to rerun or be resolved prior to expiring the membership. This guarantees that payments will be processed and notifications received in advance of membership expiration, with a one-day buffer in case of any system outage or other issue that might delay things by a day. This means if the membership start date is July 15th 2019 for a monthly membership, the membership renewal date will be August 12th, 2019 (3 days early) when the patron's credit card is billed for the 2nd and subsequent time. For example, if a monthly recurring subscription bills May 3rd and processes successfully, the following morning on May 4th, the system will renew the membership and add the Membership Renewal value to the patron's account. If, however, the credit card declines on May 3rd, and is not updated and reprocessed successfully over the next 3 days then on the morning of May 6th, the patron's membership will automatically expire in the host system. Authorized users will need to manually run the membership renewal transaction through a terminal upon resolving the patron's declined card. You can access the Recurring Payments report from REPORTING> Recurring Payments inside the back office dashboard.
Sometimes payment cards on file have to be updated (lost or stolen card, fraud detection, patron canceled card etc.) requiring an update to billing information on file or a cancellation. Auto pay updates can be done anytime in real-time. For auto pay cancelations there is a short lag window since auto-pay renewals are processed 3 days before expiration as a general rule. Membership auto-pay cancel must be done at least 4 days before membership expiration to stop any/all future auto payments. Auto payments cancelled fewer than 4 days before membership expiration will automatically process for the next month. If the membership auto pay cancel is done less than 4 days before membership expiration then, at that point, the membership would already have been renewed, so the expiration would be another month out and the subscription would bill for another month. Once Membership Auto Pay is cancelled, the patron’s membership will automatically cancel at the next expiration date and unload any unredeemed value at that time. Upon expiration, the patron will then automatically roll into the category we refer to as Default (No Membership Class) and no longer be entitled to membership benefits.
Auto Pay membership cancels and credit card account updates can be processed through any of the following ways:
Operators with Admin or Auditor security clearance can regularly monitor the status of recurring payments processed through your online gateway (i.e., Authorize.net) through the REPORTING> Recurring Payments Report. This report publishes all automatic recurring transactions (initial and subsequent) and displays a status column. Payments can decline for a variety of reasons such as expired or maxed credit cards, cancelled cards or occasional system out of synch errors. We recommend management scan this report regularly and look for the blue Fix button that opens a new screen with more details for instructions on how to resolve the error. In order to reduce the instances of declined payments, please enable Automatic Retry and Account Updater directly inside Authorize.net.
In some cases, an authorize.net subscription may exist separately from the patron’s profile inside the marketing platform. This situation most commonly arises when an Authorize.net user adds a subscription manually inside Authorize.net outside of the process of establishing the membership transaction through the membership splash page/checkout form. You can align auto subscriptions existing in your online gateway (Authorize.net) with the patron profile via the Add ARB button available from REPORTING > Recurring Payments.
