Integrating Recurring Payments for Merchants: Step-by-Step Guide
The purpose of the recurring payment feature is to allow merchants and customers to easily manage and set up recurring payments.
A recurring payment, also known as a subscription or automatic payment, is a financial transaction where a predetermined amount of money is automatically deducted from a customer's account or charged to their credit card at regular intervals.
These regular intervals could be weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, or according to any other schedule agreed upon between the merchant and the product provider.
Setting up a recurring payment usually requires the customers to provide their payment details (first name, last name, email address, select a preferred payment method, etc.) and authorize the service provider to deduct the specified amount at the agreed-upon intervals.
If you no longer wish to continue the subscription or recurring payment, you'll need to follow the cancellation process provided by the service provider.
Payment Type Selection: There are two payment options that enable merchants to effectively establish a payment page.
One-Time Payment (This is the normal payment page flow.)
Recurring Payment
After successfully setting up a merchant account, the next step is to link your Stripe account to the Merchant account and establish a payment page where users are presented with the choice between making a one-time payment or opting for a recurring payment.
Enter data into all the fields provided and select a specific payment type (Recurring or One-time).
When opting for the recurring payment option, it's necessary to indicate a billing period, which can be daily, weekly, monthly, every 3 months, every 6 months, yearly, or custom.
If you select a custom billing period, you can set up a payment arrangement or method that is tailored to specific needs or requirements rather than following a predetermined payment process. This can encompass various aspects of payment, including the amount, days, weeks, months, and years.
Then proceed to select a recurring post-cancellation date, which sets an automated cutoff for the recurring payment.
Click the “Submit” button.
Upon successful creation of the payment page, proceed to select your preferred payment method (Social Pay or Stripe) on the Checkout page.
Payment Initiation:
When customers initiate a payment, they will be presented with the chosen payment plan and the corresponding payment amount. For instance:
Stripe: "$10 Monthly"
SocialPay: "10 $GARY Monthly"
Upon a customer's selection of the recurring payment option, our system proceeds to verify the payment details, establish a subscription if the customer qualifies for the plan, initiate the initial payment, and automatically maintain a record of the user's subscription and deduct the payment from their account or charge it to their credit card automatically, following the predefined intervals.
Also, our system Implements a mechanism to handle payment failures, such as expired credit cards or insufficient funds, and notify the users.
User Dashboard Enhancement:
Customers will enjoy an enhanced user dashboard that incorporates a new card providing information about recurring payments, including:
Payment Name
Recurring Plan
Amount
Payment Method
Payment Status (Active/Inactive)
Within this user dashboard, customers will have the capability to:
Manage their subscriptions
Cancel or update their recurring payments
Access their transaction history by clicking the "View Details" button.
To access the user's recurring subscription dashboard, simply select the "Dashboard" option from the menu.
Alternatively, you can navigate to the "Merchant" feature and then choose "Recurring Payment" from the dropdown menu to oversee each subscription or deactivate it as needed.
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