Booster clubs rely on financial contributions to maintain their daily operations and to help the student programs that they support. There are many different ways that booster clubs can accept payments including cash, check and virtual funds. Being able to accept credit card payments is another excellent way of diversifying the booster clubs funds and increase financial possibilities.
Why Your Booster Club Should Accept Credit Card Payments
Credit cards offer a lot of different perks for both the booster club and the consumer.
Some of the benefits for the booster club include:
- Allowing the booster clubs to accept payment from different currencies as the credit card system does the conversion on your behalf.
- Credit card payments can be made virtually so international payments can be accepted as well as in-person.
- Research shows that people spend more when they shop with a card as opposed to cash, meaning the booster club could increase their sales and profits.
Meanwhile, the consumer gets to enjoy:
- The ability to divide larger purchase amounts into small monthly bills, making it much easier to budget.
- Credit cards offer a secured payment as a form of protection to the buyer, which puts many people at ease.
- The overall convenience of using a card instead of carrying cash and pocket change.
When you take these things into consideration, it’s easy to see that when you accept credit card payments, it can help with the financial management of your booster club.
How To Accept Credit Card Payments
Using a credit card processing system, your booster club can accept credit card payments. These systems are usually easy chip reading devices that you can install on your smartphone that link directly to your booster club bank account or to another money-holding source which can then be transferred into the bank account.
Setting up an account credit card pay to accept credit card payments is fairly easy and there are many different companies that offer these systems to individuals and organizations such as yours. You can do this in just a few steps.
Step 1- Find A Bank Or Option To Accept Credit Card Payments
Start by contacting your booster club’s bank and seeing if they offer credit card payment systems or options that you can use. Look into their fees and costs (if there are any) as well as if there are any contractual agreements that your booster club would be required to fill such as a term-length. You may find that they ask for a higher fee or a longer-term agreement than other options, but they could also offer advice on where/what your booster club can use to effectively accept credit cards with fewer restrictions.
Other popular credit card payment systems include Paypal, Square, and Stripe. Each one of them contains different fees and associated costs, but they can be significantly lower than using your own bank. These other fees can include:
- Flat-rate credit card fees for each payment
- Percentage fee for the total amount of the credit card transaction
- Monthly minimum fees
- Statement fees
- Cancellation fees
- Batch fees
- Chargeback fees
- Customer service fees
- And annual fees
Even with the fees of accepting credit cards, it can prove to be beneficial for your booster club and is a revenue source that is worth looking into!
Step 2- Think About Which Credit Cards You’d Like To Accept
There are several different major credit card companies including Mastercard, Visa, Amex, and Discover. You may find that you don’t want to accept them all and may just want to choose a select few. While this may seem a bit backward in thinking, it can be more financially beneficial for your booster club.
Different credit card companies charge different fees for every card swipe and as such some may charge higher fees, which results in lower profits for the booster club.
Step 3- Choose How To Accept The Credit Card Payments
There are many different ways that you can accept credit card payments, both online and in person. With your booster club website, you can have a donation button allowing for credit card payments, or you can have a virtual storefront on a website such as Shopify that allows for credit cards as well.
In-person you can process credit card payments on your smartphone at fundraising events. This is perfect for everything from selling merchandise and concessions to tickets and rummage sales.
Step 4- Complete The Applications
After deciding on which merchant account providers and credit cards will work best for your booster club, the next step is to apply by filling out the necessary paperwork. You will also be required to provide credit information and provide a guarantee on the account.
Which Credit Card Processor Options Are There?
There are three types of payment processors:
- All-in-one solutions
- Simplified credit card processors
- Merchant account plus payment gateway
All-In-One Solutions
An all in one solution offers a faster setup and an easier transaction which is always great. Some examples of an all-in-one system are 2Checkout, PayPal, and Square. They are often found to have more reasonable rates and don’t charge setup or monthly fees but may have additional features that cost money.
Simplified Credit Card Processors
Similar to the option above, credit card processors allow for a payment gateway without needing a merchant account. the consumer has their credit card information entered into a device or card reading system and the payment is processed right away.
Some examples include:
The downside of these is that they don’t offer the same level of traditional support if you run into problems, which can be irritating.
Merchant Account Plus Gateway
A traditional form of credit card payment acceptance is with a merchant account and a payment gateway. While there are associated fees with this process, this one offers more control over security and customization, which you can tailor to a business.
While this may not be of a great need for your booster club, it is a good thing to consider if you start offering product sales from an online platform. Just keep in mind that while there is no physical equipment involved, there is a greater need for technical assistance for implementing the process.
Conclusion
Booster clubs are vital for helping to meet the academic and social needs of students through their fundraising efforts. Being able to accept credit card payments can help fundraisers to be even more successful both in-person as well as online. It’s definitely a revenue source worth looking in to for your booster club!
