Table of Contents
- Overview
- What is the difference between a Plan and a Subscription?
- Can the merchant store the CVV number when they are creating a subscription?
- How can the merchant delete a Subscription?
- If the merchant deletes a subscription can they reactive that particular subscription?
- How can the merchant update the customer’s credit card information if they have an existing subscription?
- What types of transactions can the merchant run when using Recurring?
- If a Recurring transaction fails, is there an automatic retry functionality?
- What fees are associated with Recurring for the merchant?
- Video Tutorial
Overview
Recurring billing is available for Merchants who need to charge customers on a schedule. The recurring module will store sensitive information securely and initiate a Sale. The schedule a card or bank account holder is billed on is called a “Plan” in the NMI Gateway. Their sensitive information and Billing Information is referred to as a “Subscription”. There can be many individual subscriptions associated with a single Plan, such as a ‘Gold membership’.
The recurring module is accessible via the Gateway Control Panel, and API, but for the purposes of clarity, we’ll be covering the Control Panel only. Merchants can setup recurring for Credit Cards and Electronic Checks.
What is the difference between a Plan and a Subscription?
The Recurring Billing module contains two separate, but connected, pieces: Subscriptions and Plans. Plans contain the scheduling information such as how long, how often, and how much. Subscriptions contain the customer’s individual information such as name, credit card, address, and any custom Merchant Defined Fields as entered by the Merchant.
Subscriptions must always be attached to a plan to run properly, and can only contain Billing Information and minimal order information. Our recurring subscription module does not allow for entry of shipping information.
Can the merchant store the CVV number when they are creating a subscription?
It is against Visa Regulations to store the credit card’s CVV number. You will notice when you are creating a subscription, there is not a field to add the CVV number just like the customer vault. Under processing services, if the processor is configured as ‘CVV is required on Initial Transaction’, the merchant will have to process a transaction and pass the CVV number then create a subscription for that credit card.
If the processor setting is configured as ‘Always Require CVV’, they will have issues processing transactions using the recurring service since the CVV is not being passed.
How can the merchant delete a subscription?
If the merchant wants to delete a subscription, they will have to log into their gateway account >> click on ‘Recurring’ >> click on ‘List Subscription’ >> enter the needed search field criteria and click ‘Submit’ >> Click on the customer name >> on the right side there will be a red button that says ‘Delete' >> a pop will appear on the screen that says, ‘This customer will be deleted’ >> click ‘Okay’.
The subscription will be deleted and the customer will not be charged on their next charge day if their subscription is not completed.
If the merchant deletes a subscription can they reactive that particular subscription?
Once a subscription has been deleted it cannot be reactivated. The merchant can create another subscription.
How can the merchant update the customer’s credit card information if they have an existing subscription?
To update the credit card number and/or the expiration date for an existing subscription, follow the steps listed below.
Have the merchant log into their gateway >> Click on ‘Recurring’ >> Click on ‘List Subscription’ >> Enter the necessary information to search the subscription >> Click on the customer name >> From here the merchant should be able to update the necessary information>> Scroll to the bottom and click ‘Save.’
If the merchant has many subscriptions that need to be updated, they can use the Batch Upload feature. To update Recurring via Batch Upload, the variables that can be updated are listed below.
- Credit Card Number
- Credit Card Expiration
- Order Description
- Billing First Name
- Billing Last Name
- Billing Company
- Billing Address1
- Billing Address2
- Billing City
- Billing State
- Billing Postal Code
- Billing Country
- Billing Email
- Billing Phone
- Recurring (update_subscription, delete_subscription, add_subscription)
- Subscription ID.
***NOTE: You CANNOT update the Plan ID or Start Date with this function. We support the update of Billing Information Only at this time.
What types of transactions can the merchant run when using Recurring?
The recurring service only processes 'Sale' transaction type. It cannot be set to run an authorization only, or a credit.
If the merchant needs this type of functionality, they would need to build it themselves using the API.
If a Recurring transaction fails, is there an automatic retry functionality?
There is no automatic retry functionality upon a decline or error. If there is a decline or error’d transactions, the system will try again on the next charge date. For example: if the plan is set up to run every 30 days, the system will try again 30 days after the failure.
What fees are associated with Recurring for the merchant?
There is no additional charge for the Recurring, however, the merchant will be charged for the per transaction that the partner has specified for the merchant account.
Video Tutorial
A video tutorial link has been provided below. The video tutorial will explain what and how to set up a plan and a subscription.
Link: https://vimeo.com/200898426