In this article, we will walk through the onboarding process from the viewpoint of an educational institution. If you are not an educational institution, we have an article better suited for you.
In this article, we will walk through the onboarding process from the viewpoint of an educational institution. If you are not an educational institution, we have an article better suited for you.
In This Article, We’ll Look At:
Where to Begin
Industry
School Details
School Contact Information
School Representatives
Processing Details
Banking Details
Summary and Submission
Where to Begin
To begin, make sure you are logged into your Pay Theory account. When you first log in, you’ll be on the “Payments Home” tab.
If you haven’t completed the onboarding process, an “Onboarding” card will be visible in the upper middle of your screen.
Select “Complete Merchant Application.” This will direct you to a new page.
Industry
You will find yourself on the “Industry” tab.
Select the industry that is most relevant to your business.
Another way to narrow down the options is to use the search bar. Type your industry or merchant category code into the search bar. The results will auto-populate in real-time.
Once selected, the questionnaire will be customized to fit your industry.
Select “Save and Continue” at the bottom of the screen when you are ready to move on.
Business Details
Take a look at the “School Details” tab.
Type the legal school or district name into the first text field.
Move down to the “Doing Business As'' text field. This is a “nickname” if applicable.
As you’re going through this onboarding application, if you need more clarification, select the text box for the corresponding question you are stuck on and helper text will appear to the right of the box. If the helper text doesn’t answer your question, select the “Need Help?” link within the helper text, and a “Developer Support” pop-up will appear. Submit your questions there and we will be happy to assist you.
Select whether you are a tax-exempt organization or not.
In the “Tax, EIN, or SSN” text field, type the 9-digit number assigned to your school by the IRS.
School Contact Information
Continue onto “School Contact Information” by selecting “Save and Continue.”
Add your website into the “school Website” text field, including the protocol of the website (https, ssl, etc).
Add the phone number to the “school Phone” text field, being sure to include the area code.
Fill out the address accordingly.
School Representatives
Continue onto “School Representatives” by selecting “Save and Continue.”
You will need two representatives listed on your application. This reduces the potential for future problems—for example, one of the representatives leaving their position.
Someone responsible for the financial well-being of the educational institution should be listed as a representative—such as the school treasurer.
The name of the representative should include the person’s full legal name with their middle initial. Nicknames should not be included. Using a name other than your legal name can cause your merchant application to be delayed or declined.
Once you have filled in the individual’s information, clicking “Save and Continue” will allow you to add the second representative’s information.
If at any point you need to edit someone’s information, select the “Edit” button in the top right corner of the individual’s box. If the information is incomplete, this box will turn red and you will have to edit the information before you submit the final form.
whoBy default, the first individual you enter will be the primary account representative. To change this, select the checkbox for the representative that will be the primary account representative. This can be changed at any time in the future.
In addition, you have the option of adding more than two representatives.
If you want to remove a representative, select the “Remove Owner” button underneath the “Save and Continue” button at the bottom of the page.
Processing Details
Continue onto “Processing Details” by selecting “Save and Continue.”
Select whether or not you accept card payments.
For the “Statement Descriptor” text field, type the name that you want to appear on the payor’s bank statement.
Select your company’s refund policy from the dropdown.
For the Card Capture amount, please include:
Estimates—These are your expectations of processing volume within a year. This helps us access risk when processing merchants.
Additionally, the dollar amount and volume number do not have to be specific; they need to be an estimate of the current total amount. This is to help monitor for fraud within your account. Pay Theory expects gradual increases or decreases within accounts, but if these amounts change rapidly and you would like to alter them, please send us an email at support@paytheory.com or submit a ticket at paytheory.com/contact.
For the volume distribution by business, make sure the percentage breakdown adds up to 100%.
“Other” is anything not business or consumer related, i.e. government.
Banking Details
Continue onto “Banking Details” by selecting “Save and Continue.”
Inputting your school or distinct bank account information is necessary to accept secure and reliable payments using Pay Theory. This information also helps reduce fraud and assess risk.
For the “Name on Account” text field, type the person’s name associated with the account.
Select the account type from the dropdown.
Input the routing number into the “Routing Number” and “Confirm Routing Number” text fields.
Input the account number into the “Account Number” and “Confirm Account Number” text fields.
Summary and Submission
Continue to the “Summary” by selecting “Save and Continue.”
Double-check all of your information. If anything is incorrect or missing, selecting the “Edit” button will allow you to address the issue.
Scroll down to the “Voided Check or Bank Note” section. Upload either a voided check or banknote to help Pay Theory monitor for fraudulent activity.
Nonprofits must also upload a “Tax Exempt Document”.
When you are finished, select “Submit Application.”
After submission, check your email.
Your merchant application status will be updated in your portal. Additionally, you will receive emails notifying you of any status changes or if any additional information is needed.
If you have any questions, please send Pay Theory a message directly to the email support@paytheory.com or submit a ticket at paytheory.com/contact and we will be happy to assist you.
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