The Goal: Set up your GrowthZone Pay payment gateway so contacts can pay invoices, register for events and make donations by credit card or bank account, and save that account for recurring fees or future purchases.
Before You Begin:
- Sign your GrowthZone Pay quote first. These instructions start after the quote is signed.
- You need staff access to the Finance billing settings.
- Have ready: your business details, personal details for the account owner (Stripe uses them to verify the account holder), short card and bank statement descriptions (up to 10 and 22 characters), and a standard checking account at a financial institution.
- Check that your organization isn’t a type of business Stripe restricts. See Businesses GrowthZone Pay can’t support below.
- Canadian customers: read Canadian GZ Pay and Stripe Requirements before you start.
Setting up GrowthZone Pay has four steps: create the gateway, add your business and bank details, finish verification in Stripe, then ask GrowthZone Support to complete the final verification. The gateway won’t process payments until GrowthZone has verified it.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Create the gateway
- Go to Finance, Administrative section, click Billing Settings and select Payment Gateways.
- Click the Actions button and select Add GZ Pay Account.
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On the Add Payment Gateway screen, complete the following:
- Default Gateway: Select this check box if this will be your default gateway.
- Default Gateway for Point of Sale App: Select this check box if this gateway should process payments taken in the Point of Sale app.
- Allow Stored Payment Profiles: Selected by default. If you do not want members to store credit cards, clear it. The option to store cards is then hidden throughout the system (for example, in the Info Hub and on membership applications).
- Create stored payment profiles by default: Select this check box if you want the “store payment profile” check box on the payment widget to be selected by default everywhere in the software. When it’s selected, the card is automatically set up for AutoPay unless the member clears the box on their invoice.
- Default Currency: Select the currency of the country where your bank account is. For example, if you are a United States customer doing business in Canada and your bank is in the United States, select the United States dollar. GrowthZone doesn’t calculate exchange rates; the banking system calculates and applies them under international banking regulations.
- Internal Name: The name staff see for this account. If you run more than one processing account (for example, one for memberships and one for fundraising), add a separate GrowthZone Pay gateway for each and use this name to tell them apart.
- Email: The email of the staff contact responsible for this gateway.
- Country: Select your country.
- Click Done to save and register the new GrowthZone Pay account with the payment processor.
Step 2: Add your business and bank details
This step records your business contact and account information, including personal details about the account owner, which are needed to verify the account holder.
- On the Payment Gateways page, click the pencil icon in your new gateway’s row.
- On the Edit Payment Gateway screen, complete the following:
- Account Number: Generated automatically when the gateway is created. You can’t change it.
- Name, Default Gateway, Create stored payment profiles by default and Email: Filled in from step 1. Change them if needed.
- Default Currency: Filled in from step 1. You can’t change it.
- Business Name: Filled in automatically with your business name.
- Credit Card Description (up to 10 characters) and Bank Transfer Description (up to 22 characters): The names that appear on purchasers’ card and bank statements, so use ones they will recognize as your organization. They can’t include <, >, ‘ or “, and can’t be only numbers.
- Support Phone (optional): A phone number for supporting this gateway.
- Support Email (optional): An email address for supporting this gateway.
- Support URL (optional): A web address purchasers can visit for support.
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Bank Accounts: Click the add icon (plus sign) next to Bank Accounts to enter the bank account your payments will be transferred to.
- Use a standard account at a financial institution, such as a checking account. Savings accounts and virtual bank accounts (for example, e-wallets or cross-border services) aren’t supported.
- For a Canadian bank, enter the transit number (XXXXX) and institution number (YYY) in the Transit/Routing Number field as XXXXX-YYY.
- Once added, a bank account can’t be edited, and it can’t be deleted unless another one is added. If you enter the wrong account, add a new one.
Stripe security checks Stripe runs two checks on card payments:
- CVC failure: The CVC is the three- or four-digit number printed on the card, usually on the signature strip or the front. Stripe automatically rejects any payment where the CVC doesn’t match the card.
- AVS failure: AVS compares the billing street address, city, state and ZIP code with what the purchaser’s bank has on file. Stripe still processes payments that fail AVS, because there are many harmless reasons for a mismatch (such as a purchaser who recently moved).
Step 3: Finish verification in Stripe
- Scroll to the bottom of the Edit Payment Gateway screen and click the Open Stripe button. A new window opens directly in Stripe, the payment processor.
- Complete the information Stripe asks for to verify the account, the account holder and the representative.
Step 4: Ask GrowthZone to complete verification
As part of GrowthZone Pay, GrowthZone takes reasonable “Know Your Customer” steps to make sure each organization applying for a payment gateway is legitimate and isn’t impersonating an association or chamber for unlawful or harmful purposes. After you submit your gateway application, GrowthZone completes one more verification step. Until it’s done, the gateway can’t process payments.
- Contact the Support Team to tell them your setup is complete, so they can start the final verification.
- Once GrowthZone has verified the gateway, it’s enabled and can process transactions. To check its status, see Verify Status of Payment Gateway.
Businesses GrowthZone Pay can’t support
GrowthZone Pay runs on Stripe, and Stripe restricts some kinds of businesses: for example, those involved in illegal activities, selling restricted products, or with repeated chargebacks. These restrictions protect Stripe from liability and uphold its standards. See Stripe’s Prohibited and Restricted Businesses list for details.
Common Pitfalls
- Expecting payments before GrowthZone verifies the gateway: Finishing the Stripe steps isn’t enough. Contact the Support Team when setup is done; the gateway won’t work until they complete verification.
- Payouts stop after a failed debit: On a day with more refunds than charges, Stripe debits your bank account, and some banks block that withdrawal because they don’t recognize Stripe. Ask your bank to allow Stripe and update your account so debits aren’t declined.
- Entering the wrong bank account: Bank accounts can’t be edited after they’re added. Add the correct account as a new one.
- Setting up AutoPay without meaning to: With Create stored payment profiles by default selected, a stored card is set up for AutoPay unless the member clears the box on their invoice.