Payment gateways, subscriptions and deferred initial payment

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Jeeves

301 posts

Ultimate Geek

#166340 10-Mar-2015 10:42

I realise there is a similar thread, but the question I have it slightly different.

I'm working on a business case for an ecommerce site which has a subscription model, where the customer is charged each month for the service.

I realise a few NZ Payment gateways have subscription options - but the thing is I need the ability to be able to delay the initial first month payment - as the customer may not be receiving the service for a few days or even weeks after ordering it through the website.

I know it is possible somehow as a few overseas websites are able to do it - just wondering if any NZ payment gateways have that functionality?

Cheers!

itxtme

2102 posts

Uber Geek

#1254614 10-Mar-2015 13:34

SwipeHQ does, when setting up a subscription through their API it gives you the opportunity to set initial charges (one-off's) and then to charge for the subscription. They key is to set the first date for charging to be 28 days (or however you want to do it) to be in 1 months time.

I would be very surprised if most (or all) payment gateways services based on subscription didnt have the ability to choose the start date.

scottr

262 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#1254929 10-Mar-2015 20:48

If you don't want to 'charge' you could authorise the payment, but IIRC that must be completed in 7 days or it refunds to the card holder. It will however take the amount off the available of the card.

Depends on the gateway you're using and the services they provide. For example if you're using DPS (payment express) you could authorise the card upfront, request a recurring billing token and then charge the card when service becomes live, and thus ongoing. this does require you to have some kind of billing system though, which if you have a system that'll create an invoice every month, you have a system that'll be able to charge a card every month.

mattwnz

20164 posts

Uber Geek

#1254943 10-Mar-2015 21:06

I think it depends on the ecommerce system you are using, as to what plugs to payment processors they have.