MeetMax provides several options for registration events to incorporate payment processing. This post is not specifically about configuring payments in your MeetMax event but instead about the different alternatives for how to process those payments.

• A brief introduction to Payment Processing
• Have MeetMax process payments for you
• Process payments with a merchant account

A brief introduction to Payment Processing

In order to more effectively weigh the options available to you, it is important to understand some of the jargon and structure of the payment processing world.

• Payment Gateway:  The payment gateway is a merchant service that authorizes credit card or direct payments processing. It is not the same as the payment processor which will be described later. You can think of it as the "doorway" that allows you to transfer payment information between a processor and the payment portal (the MeetMax checkout page). MeetMax supports Authorize.net, Stripe, PayPal Gateway, and PayPal REST API.

• Payment Processor:  The payment processor is typically a financial institution which actually processes the payments on your behalf. Which payment processors are supported is dependent upon your payment gateway.

• Merchant Account:  (also referred to as Internet Merchant Account) This is a special type of account that allows a business to accept debit or credit card payments over the Internet. If you choose to set up your own Payment Gateway account then you will also need to establish an internet merchant account. The process of setting up an internet merchant account can take several weeks so please plan accordingly.

Have MeetMax process payments for you

By far this is the easiest solution, insofar as it is "turn-key". Within the MeetMax application you can simply navigate to "Configure" --> "Event Settings" --> "Enable Features".

In this interface you will click "Yes" to the question "Do you want to use MeetMax to process credit card transactions?". The form will then ask "Will MeetMax hold payments in it's bank on your behalf?". You will want to leave this in the default position of "yes".

This will enable various payment processing menus within the application and place the event in "test mode" for payment processing.

There are several other steps to take within the application to configure your payment structure (not covered here) and you will need MeetMax Technical Services to set the event to "live mode" once you're done testing, but that's it. There are no additional hoops to jump through or vendors to deal with.

Please contact MeetMax Sales for specifics on processing fees when using MeetMax as your payment processor. Funds are remitted to you within 30 days of your event's conclusion, in order to allow for any potential refunds before the final remittance is sent.

Process payments with a merchant account

There are additional options for those of you who either already have an internet merchant account or intend to do a lot of payment processing (which would justify the investment of time and energy to set up your own account).

As noted above, MeetMax supports two prominent Payment Gateway offerings: Authorize.net, Stripe, PayPal Gateway, and PayPal REST API.

In order to utilize this option, you will need to first set up your Payment Gateway account and choose a supported Payment Processor.

Once you've completed this, you will need to take some additional steps within the Payment Gateway configuration to allow for API integration. Check with your Payment Gateway provider for details.

Once all of this is complete, you will go to "Configure" --> "Event Settings" --> "Enable Features" and respond "Yes" to the question about processing credit card transactions. Then select "No" to the question about MeetMax holding payments for you, and select the appropriate payment processor.

Now that you've set up your payment processor, you will need to configure payments for your event. Reach out to our Support team for assistance.