1. Are there any fees to open or maintain a Merchant Account?
There is no setup cost or monthly fees for your Merchant Account.
2. What are the Transaction Fees for Online Payments?
Transaction fees for credit and debit card processing is among the lowest in the industry, and we're passing that savings on to you: 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction.
When the payer pays by Credit Card or voluntarily opts to cover the fees when paying by Debit Card, the payer will pay this processing fee.
When the payer pays by debit card and does not voluntarily cover the fees, the merchant will pay this processing fee.
Groupable charges the payer a small service charge or convenience fee that is detailed at the time of the transaction.
3. My member was charged a Convenience Fee. Why is that?
Groupable charges the payer a small service charge or convenience fee that is detailed at the time of the transaction. This is separate from the transaction fee for credit and debit card processing.
4. What is the Surcharge, and how does it work?
Credit card processing fees default to Surcharging (Surcharging passes the credit card processing fee onto the payer, ensuring your chapter/club/lodge receives the full dues amount). In other words, the member will pay the credit card processing fee.
The chapter/club/lodge will bear the fees of 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction if payment is made with a debit card unless the member voluntarily selects the "make a donation to cover debit card fees" button at checkout. This is because debit cards currently cannot legally be charged a surcharge, while credit cards can.
5. How can I recoup those Debit Card processing fees?
A member can select the button "make a donation to cover debit card fees" to automatically cover in full this 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction for debit cards when making their Online Payment. Feel free to ask your members to pay by credit card or donate to cover the debit card processing fees. Here's an example note you can include in your emailed Dues Notices: Example Letter requesting Online Payment
6. What if I want to turn off Surcharging for all transactions?
If you do not wish to Surcharge, please click Disable.
WARNING
*The Club will be responsible for the processing fees for all Online Payment transactions if the Surcharge is Disabled*
7. I have already set up my Merchant Account, do I need to do anything?
If you already have a Merchant Account, your members are automatically being surcharged for credit card transactions at this time. It allows the member to donate to cover their debit card fees.
Any credit card transaction will be automatically recorded in groupable|m2. When a credit card payment is processed or a member donates to cover their debit card fees, you will not see a FEES line in groupable|m2 since no fees are subtracted from your payout.
Any debit card transaction will record the FEES line as you are familiar with. You can recoup these by following FAQ #5 instructions.
8. Is it legal to surcharge a credit card transaction?
Pursuant to a settlement of the U.S. merchant class litigation, Mastercard, Visa, and other Credit Card Companies modified certain rules and business practices to permit U.S. merchants to apply an extra checkout fee, also known as a surcharge, to customers who pay with Mastercard-branded credit cards. The rule change permitting such surcharging took effect on January 27, 2013. These fees are not allowed on Debit Mastercard or Mastercard prepaid cards.
The same is true for all other major credit cards after this settlement rule was enacted in 2013. Other national credit card processing services charge customers surcharges. See xerofees.com and cheddarup.com for examples.
You can read Mastercard and Visa's surcharging statements below:
Mastercard Merchant Surcharge Rules
8. Can I bar my members from paying by debit card without paying the fees?
Credit card processing agreements currently do not allow you to require members to pay debit card processing fees. You can request that members pay by credit card or voluntarily cover the processing fees, but you cannot require it. Groupable Payments allows members to pay by credit or debit card.
9. As prescribed in Masonic Law, we must receive funds equal to those paid by all other members for their annual dues. How does that work with debit cards?
The member pays your local group the full dues amount, and then Stripe receives all processing fees before the funds are transferred to your local bank account. Your members pay their dues in full whether they pay by debit or credit card.
Due to a current legal ruling, we are prohibited from requiring a surcharge on debit cards.
10. Why should I use Groupable Payments when it costs 2.9%+$0.30?
Great question! Let's take a look at real costs for dues collection and non-renewal.
Annual Dues Collection costs:
- $0.73 postage,
- paper, ink/printer,
- envelopes,
- second/third/final billing notice, and
- any certified mail expenses for NPD.
Even when a member pays on time, the actual collection costs could be upwards of several dollars per member per year, not counting your time in collecting, compared to setting up your Stripe Merchant Account and emailing dues notices. At any point in the year, a member can click a dues reminder link from their Weekly Masonic Update or log in to the Member Portal and make their payment.
Non-renewal and arrears costs:
Each parent organization charges annual assessments per member, whether the member has paid their dues. The assessments could be as low as $15 or as high as $75+. We want to make it easy for you to collect dues to cover your annual member expenses.
Increased renewal rates:
Since 2017, we've seen Groupable Payments lower non-renewal rates, and even retaining one more member's dues will pay for all the transaction fees in a year.
Why don't my members pay on time?
Many secretaries have been shocked that their first online payments come from members who are always in arrears, owe multiple years, or are often the last to pay. Many members who don't pay on time don't own checkbooks. Why not let members pay instantly? Let's make it easier for members to remain active.
What's the upshot?
Setting up Groupable Payments might save everyone time and money. For $100 in dues, the 2.9% + $0.30 = $3.20. That's much less than your parent organization's annual assessment and scarcely more than mailing several dues notices.
11. I would like more information about Groupable Payments. Where can I learn more?
For more information ➞ See Groupable Payments.
Updated: 8/2024
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