Card Payments Setup - 1. Introduction

This article provides an introduction to setting up card payments in Arbor for schools in the UK. It outlines the necessary permissions, the prerequisites for using card payments in Arbor and the payment features included in various packages.

This guide is the first in a series. The guides in this series are:

1. Introduction
2. Verifying school details
3. Uploading school documents
4. Entering Controller/Owner details
5. Entering Representative details
6. Adding a bank account for payouts
7. Checking your details
8. Confirming and troubleshooting verification
9. Enabling Customer Account Types

10. FAQs and further reading

    
    Top Tip: Unsure about where to start with payments in Arbor, or need assistance with your setup? Why not try our In-App Payments Help Guide! 

Permissions

The permissions required to set up and manage Payments in Arbor are:

• Finance: Administer - To complete any of the setup required to use card payments and to be able to top up accounts other than your own.
• Finance: View - To be able to see all the information about card payments in Arbor.
• General Admin: Administer - To be able to edit school details on the School > School details page

If you don't have the relevant permissions, ask your admin team to give you permission using these instructions.

Why use payments in Arbor?

Having card payments set up in Arbor enables you to take payments directly from within your MIS, eliminating the need for a separate application. You can pay out to multiple bank accounts and see a detailed breakdown of each payout, all with a reduced transaction fee of 1.275% + VAT (cheaper than most providers). 

What can we use card payments for?

Once you enable card payments, you will be able to use them for various purposes, including Clubs, Trips, Meals, ad hoc payments, and the School Shop (depending on your package).

You receive three accounts as standard in Arbor: Clubs, Trips, and Meals. These can all be enabled for card payments from School > Payments > Setup > Customer Account Types after completing your setup.

You can also create additional ad hoc accounts, which you can then enable for card payments (such as for snack purchases). Follow our guide here to help you set those up.

What you need to set up payments in Arbor

Arbor's card payments functionality is only available for schools that meet these requirements:

• The school is located in the UK, excluding the Isle of Man
• The school has a bank account that accepts BACS or direct debit payments
• The school is on any of our Perform packages or our newest Comms package. 
  
  If you want to upgrade to a new package or get information about your current package, please contact customersales@arbor-education.com 

In addition to the above, during the setup process, you will also be required to provide various documents. The Information we ask you to provide in these instructions is necessary for performing 'Know Your Customer' identity verification, which is legally required. 

Documentation you might be asked for can include:

Proof of the school's address - An official document confirming the school's address. Think along the lines of an Ofsted inspection report (Recommended), a utility bill in the name of your school, a bank-issued document in the name of your school, a Companies House Document or a Charity Commission Document

School Representative or Controller/Owner Photo ID - Photo ID for your Representative is commonly requested (for Controllers/Owners, this is less likely). Accepted documents are Passports (preferred), Driver’s licenses or Other government-issued ID (both the front and back)

Your School's bank details - Please have these to hand, as you might be prompted to supply the account holder's name, account number, sort code and more.

We've attached a downloadable file that lists all the requirements for setting up your card payments. You can download and check off the items as needed.

Which steps do I need to complete during the setup?

The first part of setting up your card payments is to submit your school's documentation for verification by our payments partner, Stripe. Guides 2 to 8 in our Payments Setup - Step-by-step series walk you through this part.

Once you have submitted the verification documentation, you will also need to mark which account types you wish to use for card payments by verifying them, which is covered in the ninth guide in this series.

This concludes the first guide in our Card Payments Setup series. The following guide in this series is Card Payments Setup - 2. Verifying school details