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How to setup recurring payments?

by Osman_M
13 replies
Hey folks,

I'm in the process of setting an online directory and was wondering how to integrate a recurring payment system?

Business owners would just have to fill out a form on the website in order for them to have a listing and from there on will be charged an automatic monthly fee for that listing.

I have been doing some research but could not spot solid answers. Freshbooks and Authorize.net have been thrown around in a couple of my searches and also Paypal.

Any advice on what is the best setup? Keep in mind, I'm located in Canada and therefore have a Canadian bank account and the funds from whichever online account will have to be deposited into a Canadian bank account. Not sure if that matters.

All help is appreciated.
#payments #recurring #setup
  • Profile picture of the author Meozyn
    Hia matey, the wordpress plugin s2Member is perfect! It will let your users have their profiles, and when they purchase, every month they will automatically get a payment request from paypal!
    Let me know how your directory goes, ii ws going to start one too!
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  • Profile picture of the author Dr Dan
    I would just use paypal. I use this for all my clients and all of them are on recurring payments.
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  • Profile picture of the author SShip
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Osman_M
      The problem with paypal is that the transfer of money if made to a Canadian bank account, they have there own currency rate fees. A lot of money is lost in the transfer. The ironic part is that the Canadian dollar is strong but still way too much is lost if done through paypal.

      The other alternative to that would be to setup a US bank account and just dump the money there but I'm looking for an easier solution.

      Also, I want automatic withdrawls from there CC's. I am not looking to send a notice for them to make a payment but rather have the payment taken out automatically.
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      • Profile picture of the author CoMpUtErGoD20XX
        By far my preferred solution for recurring payments is Authorize.net. I just finished a recurring payment solution implementation on my new website with Authorize.Net & IDevAffiliate as the affiliate commission tracking system.

        I have used PayPal myself in the past for recurring payments but I don't like it. The PayPal interface can be confusing for users and the process pretty much requires that you redirect people to PayPal's pages to complete checkout where-as Authorize.Net allows them to remain on your site.

        With Authorize.Net and a little bit of my custom programming I was able to create a seamless recurring payment solution that keeps the users on my site the entire time during checkout. In Addition, the checkout process is a single page as opposed to the multi-page system PayPal uses.

        The only downsides to Authorize.Net is you have to get a merchant account which has recurring fees. In total Authorize.Net and Automated Recurring Bill (ARB - recurring payment component) will cost about $35-$50 a month even if you don't make a single dollar in sales.

        In the end, I found the Authorize.Net payment system to be the best solution for me and my customers. I would highly recommend it over PayPal's recurring solution in almost any case. If you would like see the system in action you can view my new website (YourDigitalSalesman dot com). Click on any of the order buttons on any of the "Services" pages to see the checkout page which is the Authorize.Net piece.

        Remember, Authorize.Net will probably need to be customized for your specific site unless your online directory system is already setup to work with such a system.

        I hope this is helpful to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author jimevee
    There are other payment gateways you can use as well that support recurring payments that are less expensive then Authorize.net. Eprocessing Network is one of which I happen to be an authorized reseller of. Here's the link for the integration options you would have through them eProcessingNetwork Payment Gateway Integration & Developers Utilities

    I'm also a merchant account provider so if you are looking for a merchant account eithier in the US or Canada I can help you with setting that up as well.

    If you have any questions PM me for more details.
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  • Profile picture of the author krzysiek
    I am also going to be opening up a directory website (niche specific) but it won't be in Wordpress so won't be able to use any of the WP plugins.

    I have called my bank (and much like with your bank, probably) they have a custom solution (which costs money) but you can probably integrate it with them directly so that someone can pay you via credit card and funds go direct to your account that way. That would probably be the option that I am going to look at when my directory is finished!
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    • Profile picture of the author CoMpUtErGoD20XX
      Originally Posted by krzysiek View Post

      I am also going to be opening up a directory website (niche specific) but it won't be in Wordpress so won't be able to use any of the WP plugins.

      I have called my bank (and much like with your bank, probably) they have a custom solution (which costs money) but you can probably integrate it with them directly so that someone can pay you via credit card and funds go direct to your account that way. That would probably be the option that I am going to look at when my directory is finished!
      I actually had to modify an existing WP plugin and one non-WP plugin for my setup. My bank said they had a solution too but they don't usually work with any of the good tools such as Authorize.Net or other plugins I wanted to use. With Authorize.Net the funds are directly deposited into my bank account.

      Maybe you will have a better experience. All the best.
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      • Profile picture of the author Osman_M
        Originally Posted by CoMpUtErGoD20XX View Post

        I actually had to modify an existing WP plugin and one non-WP plugin for my setup. My bank said they had a solution too but they don't usually work with any of the good tools such as Authorize.Net or other plugins I wanted to use. With Authorize.Net the funds are directly deposited into my bank account.

        Maybe you will have a better experience. All the best.


        Im assuming your bank account is a US account right? Any ideas what sort of currency rates Authorize.net charges if its a Canadian or any other foreign account?

        The reason Im asking is because you are in the inside of Authorize.net and are a user so you'd probably know.
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        • Profile picture of the author CoMpUtErGoD20XX
          Originally Posted by Osman_M View Post

          Im assuming your bank account is a US account right? Any ideas what sort of currency rates Authorize.net charges if its a Canadian or any other foreign account?

          The reason Im asking is because you are in the inside of Authorize.net and are a user so you'd probably know.
          Yes, I am using a US Bank account. The fees for all Authorize.Net accounts are set by the merchant (domestic & international) not by Authorize.net. If you are interested in an account I will gladly provide anyone with the merchant provider's info that I am using.

          Below is a blurb directly from Authorize.Net's site regarding Internal charges.

          "Yes. Merchants can submit transactions to the payment gateway on behalf of non-U.S. customers. To do so, the merchant's bank account must be with a financial institution located in the United States, and the merchant must be configured to accept the customer's card type: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diner's Club, or EnRoute. The payment gateway will submit the amount of the transaction to the customer's card issuer, who will then handle all currency conversion to U.S. dollars. Since default Address Verification Service (AVS) settings may cause foreign transactions to be declined, merchants who plan to regularly accept international transactions should make sure that their AVS settings are configured to meet their business needs."
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          • Profile picture of the author Osman_M
            Originally Posted by CoMpUtErGoD20XX View Post

            Yes, I am using a US Bank account. The fees for all Authorize.Net accounts are set by the merchant (domestic & international) not by Authorize.net. If you are interested in an account I will gladly provide anyone with the merchant provider's info that I am using.

            Below is a blurb directly from Authorize.Net's site regarding Internal charges.

            "Yes. Merchants can submit transactions to the payment gateway on behalf of non-U.S. customers. To do so, the merchant's bank account must be with a financial institution located in the United States, and the merchant must be configured to accept the customer's card type: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diner's Club, or EnRoute. The payment gateway will submit the amount of the transaction to the customer's card issuer, who will then handle all currency conversion to U.S. dollars. Since default Address Verification Service (AVS) settings may cause foreign transactions to be declined, merchants who plan to regularly accept international transactions should make sure that their AVS settings are configured to meet their business needs."

            Appreciate the help. I will PM you if anything!
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  • Profile picture of the author danielkanuck
    Ever considered using 2checkout.com?
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  • Profile picture of the author cchipster
    'Paypal' ...is super easy-go to 'subscriptions' instead of 'buy now' settings
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    No signature, I'm sure you will be ok.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lisha5684
      Originally Posted by cchipster View Post

      'Paypal' ...is super easy-go to 'subscriptions' instead of 'buy now' settings
      cchipster. Thanks. For some reason I didn't notice the "subscriptions" option and that one is free, so that's awesome. Before, I only noticed the automatic billing option, and for that you need a business account and it costs $19.99 a month + fees. With subscriptions it is free! yay! Thanks so much!
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