Can my Clients pay by bank transfer?
Note: This functionality is currently only available for companies using Stripe Express (only available in the UK) and can only be used by clients with bank accounts based in the UK.
Yes - to enable bank transfer payments, simply navigate to System > Settings > Payment Integrations > Card Payments with Stripe (New) > Settings then tick ‘By default, Clients are allowed to pay by Bank Transfer’ and submit. Please keep in mind that in order to have the option to pay via Bank Transfer, either an Administrator or the Client should first remove their card details from the billing section on their profile.
With this enabled, your Clients will have the option to pay via bank transfer when they go to pay an Invoice.
An example of an Invoice payment portal, with the Pay by bank transfer button highlighted.
Selecting this option will redirect the Client to a page displaying the dynamic bank details generated for that Invoice that the Client can use to pay the Invoice. Once they have made the transfer, they can confirm this has happened by clicking Payment will be made in the next 5 days. If the transfer was successful, the Invoice should be marked as ‘Paid’ five days later.
Note: It's important that your Client ensures all the details listed, including the unique reference generated when they select Pay by bank transfer are correct - otherwise the payment will not go through or we may be unable to match the payment to the correct Invoice.
You can enable/disable bank transfer functionality on a per-Client basis by navigating to their profile, selecting Actions > Edit Profile and expanding the 'Accounting & Client Manager' tab and overriding your default settings for them via the 'Allow payment by Bank Transfer override' dropdown menu.
Overriding a branch’s bank transfer settings for a particular Client.
If your Client transfers the incorrect amount
If they transfer less than the Invoice total, the transfer will be refunded automatically, and the Invoice will remain marked as ‘Unpaid’. If they overpay the Invoice total, the difference will be refunded back to them.
Note: After you initiate a refund, Stripe submits refund requests to your Client's bank or card issuer. Your Client sees the refund as a credit approximately 5-10 business days later.
Refunds issued shortly after the original charge appear in the form of a reversal instead of a refund. In the case of a reversal, the original charge drops off the Client's statement, and a separate credit isn’t issued.
If your Client inputs an incorrect reference number
Stripe will attempt to match the bank transfer to the correct Invoice - if it is unable to do this, the full amount transferred will either be automatically refunded back to the Client (and the Invoice will remain marked as Unpaid) or, if the monies paid can be used to pay for an already-outstanding Invoice that had been raised at an earlier date, Stripe will automatically use that money to cover a different Invoice.
Note: Currently, for Invoices where the organisation is acting as an Employment Agency, Clients who have previously saved their card details within TutorCruncher will not have the option to pay by bank transfer.