Adminished

How to save money on payment fees

Every online payment carries two costs: Stripe's processing fee (Stripe is the company that actually moves the money) and Adminished's 1% platform fee. The platform fee is the same whatever method a parent uses — but the Stripe fee is not, and that's where you can save real money by steering parents to the cheaper rail.

Card vs Direct Debit — what each costs

These are Stripe's standard UK rates as a guide. Your exact rates are set by your own Stripe agreement and shown in your Stripe dashboard.

  • UK cards: about 1.5% + 20p per payment. EU cards are around 2.5%, and cards from outside Europe around 3.25%.
  • Direct Debit (Bacs): about 1%, capped at £2 per payment — no fixed pence fee, and it never costs more than £2 however large the payment.

So Direct Debit is cheaper on almost every payment, and the bigger the fee the bigger the saving (because of the £2 cap):

  • £30 monthly fee: card ≈ 65p · Direct Debit ≈ 30p
  • £80 monthly fee: card ≈ £1.40 · Direct Debit ≈ 80p
  • £200 monthly fee: card ≈ £3.20 · Direct Debit = £2.00 (the cap)

Across a whole club that adds up. A club collecting £60 a month from 80 members could save roughly £40 a month — about £480 a year — just by moving those payments to Direct Debit.

How to steer parents to Direct Debit

Go to Settings → Payments and find Payment methods for automatic billing. You have three choices:

  • Card & Direct Debit (recommended) — parents pick. Many will choose Direct Debit once it's offered.
  • Direct Debit only — the cheapest to run; everyone pays by Direct Debit.
  • Card only — never offer Direct Debit.

This setting controls the saved payment method a parent stores so you can charge monthly fees automatically. One-off payments (drop-in sessions, event tickets) are taken by card so they go through immediately.

Direct Debit also shows your club's name on the parent's bank statement and Direct Debit instruction — so they recognise the payment and are far less likely to dispute it.

The trade-offs of Direct Debit

  • Set-up takes 2–3 working days. The first Direct Debit isn't instant — Bacs needs a few days to confirm the mandate and collect. After that, monthly collection is automatic.
  • Parents need a UK bank account. If some don't, leave the option as Card & Direct Debit so everyone can still pay.
  • It's for recurring fees. Direct Debit suits monthly membership, not one-off purchases.

Because of the set-up delay, Card & Direct Debit is the safest choice for most clubs: parents who want the convenience of a card can use one, and everyone else saves you money on Direct Debit.

Other ways to keep fees down

  • Collect monthly, not per session. One £60 Direct Debit costs far less than four separate £15 card payments — each card payment carries that fixed 20p on top.
  • Pass the fee on if you prefer round numbers. The Add transaction fee to price toggle lets parents cover the fee so your take-home stays a round figure — see the Who pays the transaction fee article below.
  • Record cash and bank transfers in Adminished too so every payment lives in one ledger — those carry no Stripe fee at all.

What about blocking certain card types, like American Express?

Stripe's hosted checkout doesn't let a business switch off individual card brands such as American Express, so Adminished can't offer a per-brand toggle. The effective way to cut card costs is to offer Direct Debit as above — that's where the real saving is.

Related articles

  • Who pays the fee

    How the "Add transaction fee to price" toggle on payment requests works: when on, parents cover the Stripe + platform fee and you receive the round number; when off, the fee comes out of your share.

  • Passing on card fees

    Adding a card surcharge is illegal in the UK and Ireland (and being banned in Australia). The legal way to recover processing costs: build the fee into your price — including the "Add transaction fee to price" toggle, which shows parents one inclusive total with no separate card fee.

  • Taking payments

    Generate monthly charges, record cash or bank-transfer payments, and see who still owes money at a glance.

  • Payment reminders

    How automated payment reminders work in Adminished (T+3, T+7, T+14), how saved-card auto-charge bypasses reminders entirely, and how declined cards are handled.

  • Connecting Stripe

    Step-by-step walkthrough of Stripe Connect onboarding: what you need before you start, the verification flow, fees, payout schedule, and the common gotchas.

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