How payments work in MemberPress
MemberPress's documentation says the Authorize.net integration is built in and available to Scale plan members. Before you connect it, you need an active Authorize.net merchant account.
You add a MemberPress gateway webhook to your Authorize.net account: paste its web address in the Endpoint URL field, set it to Active and select all events. The page says to qualify for a merchant account you need to be based in the UK, Europe, the US or Australia with a local bank account, and that payments can come from anywhere in the world.
MemberPress is a membership plugin for WordPress.
This guide covers online and invoice payments, the ones MemberPress takes through its payment connection.
What changes and what stays
What changes
- The payment connection inside MemberPress: either a new gateway login, or a new account behind the gateway you already use. We tell you which after we read your statement.
- Who settles your card money and sends your monthly statement.
- Your fees. We show you the real numbers from your own statement and never predict them.
What stays
- MemberPress itself, with your customers, records and the way you work.
- What your customers see when they pay, in most cases.
Who this suits
Best fit
- A membership site on the Scale plan that charges at registration and renews by card.
- Your processing contract is near its end, or you can time a change around it.
- You have not looked at your statement in a while and want a person to read it with you.
Not a fit
- A site on a lower MemberPress plan, or a business outside the regions the page lists for a merchant account.
- Your statement is already clear and you are happy with it. Then the honest answer may be to stay where you are.
- You are in the middle of a contract with a large early cancellation fee and cannot time a change.
What a switch involves
- Send your latest statement. A person reads it with you and works out your effective rate. This is free and there is no pressure to switch.
- We check what MemberPress allows for your setup. Plans and settings differ, so we confirm what your MemberPress account can do. If the honest answer is to stay, we say so.
- Apply for the new account, if a change makes sense. This takes business and bank details. How long it takes varies with the account review and with any hardware involved.
- Update the payment connection in MemberPress. Enter the new connection details in your payment settings and run a test payment before you tell customers anything.
- Move saved cards and recurring payments, then close the old account. Do this when your contract allows it. Closing the old account too early can stop recurring charges.
Timing varies. We give you a realistic timeline for your setup when we read your statement.
What to watch
- Add the webhook in Authorize.net exactly as the page describes, then submit test registrations through your membership registration pages.
- Cards your customers have saved on file. Ask whether they can be moved to the new setup, or whether customers would need to enter them again.
- Recurring billing and subscriptions, which are tied to those saved cards.
- Gift card balances, if you sell gift cards.
- Card surcharges. Card network rules and some state laws limit them, so check before you add or keep one.
- Your current contract end date and any early cancellation fee.
Questions merchants ask
Which MemberPress plan do I need?
MemberPress's documentation says the integration is available to Scale plan members.
Do I need to set up a webhook?
Yes. The page says to add the MemberPress gateway webhook to your Authorize.net account, set it to Active and select all events.
Will members see the option?
The page says members see the label on your membership registration forms when choosing the payment method.
How do I see what I pay now?
Open your monthly processing statement and add up every fee. Divide that total by your card sales for the month. The result is your effective rate, the real percentage you pay after every fee. Our free statement review walks you through it.
See what you pay, for free
A person reads your statement with you and tells you what each fee means and whether a different processor is even possible with MemberPress. There is no pressure to switch.