How To Add Interac E-Transfer Payment Option to Your Registration Form

Interac e-Transfer is a widely trusted payment method for participants to transfer funds directly from their bank account to your business.

The best part about it? It has low transaction fees and everyone in Canada is used to it.

But Interac E-transfers can still be a hassle to track and settle payments when dealing with a large number of transactions.

But what if you could integrate, streamline and settle Interac transfers from your registration form without lifting a finger?

So whether you’re running a swim school, dance school, or gymnastics club and are looking for an efficient yet affordable way to collect registrations and payments, this article is for you.

We’ll discuss:

• How to create a registration form
• Integrating Interac E-transfer payments
• Direct Interac Deposits and Auto Settlements
• Lower Fees Compared to Credit Cards
• Marketing and Communications

How to Create a Registration Form (Interac Payment)

The first step in managing online registrations with Interac payments is creating a user-friendly registration form. Here’s how to get started:

1. Choose a platform: A platform like Activity Messenger simplifies the process of creating registration forms, especially when handling payments in Canada. You can create online forms that support multiple payment options, including Interac e-Transfer.
2. Design the form: Focus on ease of use. Include essential fields such as participant information, event or class details, and payment methods. Make sure to keep the design clean and responsive so users can fill out the form on any device.
3. Customize the flow: Depending on the services you’re offering, you may want to include conditional fields that guide the clients depending on the options they select. Customize the form to collect additional information, such as dietary preferences or liability waiver agreements and digital signatures.
4. Invoicing: Automating invoicing is a great way to reduce administrative tasks. With Activity Messenger, once a client registers and selects their payment method, an invoice is generated automatically.
5. Publish and distribute: After the form is created, it’s time to share it. Publish it on your website, send it via email, or share it through social media and SMS campaigns to reach your audience.

How To Add Interac e-Transfer as a Payment Option

Once your registration from is ready, you’ll need to integrate Interac e-Transfer as a payment method on you form.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Enable Interac e-Transfer: In your Activity Messenger form, go to the payment section and choose Interac e-Transfer as one of the payment options. This will allow participants to select it during checkout. You can also make it the only method of payment you offer.
2. Set up recipient information: Provide a designated email address for participants to send their Interac payments. Make sure to configure security questions and answers based on your organization’s preferences.
3. Offer clear instructions: Once Interac e-Transfer is selected as the payment method, the platform will off detailed instructions such as  a recipient email address, the security question, and relevant notes.
4. Automated reconciliation: If you handle a high volume of transactions, automated reconciliation will help you save a lot of time. This will match payments to registrations, and reduces the need for manual tracking.

Direct Deposits and Auto Settlements

As your organization grows, processing a high volume of payments and invoices manually and keeping up with settlements becomes time-consuming. Activity Messenger helps you streamline this so you can stop chasing parents for payments once and for all:

1. Direct Deposits: Many banks in Canada, allow direct deposits for payments made with Interac e-Transfer. Once a payment is received, the funds are transferred to your organization’s bank account without additional steps.
2. Auto Settlements: Once you receive the payment, you usually have to go settle it and keep track of everything, but with Activity Messenger, the system does it for you. Activity Messenger settles the payment under the client’s accounts and automatically marks it as paid.
3. Auto-Cancellation Feature:Activity Messenger’s auto-cancellation feature cancels registrations if a payment isn’t received within a set timeframe. By enabling auto-cancellation, you avoid holding spots for non-paying participants and can quickly free up spots for others. This tracking and communication with clients is done automatically with Activity Messenger.

Lower Fees Compared to Credit Cards

Switching to Interac e-transfers can help you reduce credit card fees and still keep a streamline registration process if done well.

With Activity Messenger, you can enjoy the benefits of lower fees, faster payments, and fewer manual tasks, all without sacrificing customer convenience.

Comparing Interac, Credit Card and other payment methods

	Interac	Credit card	Bank transfer	Offline
Processing fees*	0%	2.9% + 30c	1% + 40c	Yes
Payout	Instant	1-3 days	5 days	Client dependant
Settlement	Automated**	Automated	Automated	Manual

*Excludes all fees charged by registration software and can vary from bank to bank. Credit card fees and bank transfer fees are based on stripe fees. Note that Activity Messenger charges a 1% fee on all transactions.
**Activity Messenger is the only registration platform that can automate Interac settlements.

Marketing, Communications and much more

Registration and payments are crucial running your business. But what if you could also simplify and automate other important parts such as marketing, communications, staff management and surveys.

Here are a few ways a modern registration platform can help you:

Start-of-Session Reminders

Automated reminders can include session start times, location details, and any materials participants need to bring. With Activity Messenger, you can schedule automated reminders with email or SMS to go out a few days before each session. This makes sure participants are prepared and can help reduce no-shows.

Bulk SMS

When you need to reach a large number of participants quickly, SMS is a powerful tool. You can use it to send updates, notify clients of changes, or even promote new sessions or classes. Activity Messenger supports sending bulk SMS messages to your customer base or a specific attendance list, making it easy to communicate last minute information.

Surveys

A post-session survey is great to gather feedback and improve your offering. You can use Activity Messenger to automate end-of-session surveys. This not only helps you understand attendee satisfaction, but also provides insight into areas where your organization can improve.

Email Marketing

Building relationships with your participants doesn’t stop at registration. Regular communication through newsletters can help keep your clients engaged. Use Activity Messenger’s email marketing tools to share upcoming events, promotions, or any updates relevant to your audience. You can also segment your contact list to send targeted messages based on participant interests or past registrations.

By integrating Interac e-Transfer as a payment option on your registration form, you offer your participants a secure, familiar, and convenient way to pay.

Using a registration software like Activity Messenger helps you automate registration workflows to reduce manual work like chasing after e-transfers and keeping track of who has paid their invoice.

To learn more, book a quick demo with one of our experts.