Digital payments making waves … but what’s right for your club or swim school?

In the age of digital banking and mobile payments, cash has gone from king to being a royal pain. 

Many aquatics clubs and swim schools switched to collecting fees by bank transfer or standing order a while ago as they wanted to save themselves the hassle of handling cash and spare members the weekly dash to the cash point. 

What they’ve found, however, is that there’s no less admin than there was before when you rely on members logging onto their bank to action payments, update standing orders or use the correct payment reference.

The good news is that there are a number of easy-to-use, truly digital and automated payment solutions that can increase convenience for members, plug revenue leaks for clubs and swim schools and free your team from mind-numbing, maddening administrative tasks.

Of course, it always pays to do your research where payments are concerned. So we’re here to offer a quick guide to deciding what kind of payment services provider (PSP) you need.

Understand your payments

Do you need to take on the spot card or mobile payments from members? Or do you mainly collect monthly fees, which might vary slightly each month based on competitions entered, classes attended, or club shop purchases?

Card and mobile payments tend to cost more to process. There are more steps in the background so more middlemen taking their cut.

Direct Debit has for decades been the industry standard for recurring payments. Collection amounts can be varied each month as needed, and it’s cheaper because it’s a bank-to-bank payment: fewer middlemen means lower fees. 

Once you have a Direct Debit mandate in place you can also charge one-off payments, over and above any regular monthly fee.

Features and services to expect from a PSP

Now you need to establish the features and services you need from your PSP. Here are some key points to consider:

Security and data privacy compliance

This is the ultimate non-negotiable for digital payments. You need to ensure your payment solution has security and compliance covered because it’s unlikely your team has either the skills or the time to handle these.

Compatibility with your other systems

Many aquatics clubs and swim schools have invested in subscription or membership management platforms, as well as accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks. Look for a PSP that integrates with these solutions to avoid creating yet another parallel system that needs updating and maintaining independently.

Reporting

Comparing reporting capabilities is a great way to differentiate PSPs. You’re going to need at least a basic level of reporting, such as failed or late payments, and forecasts of incoming payments. But take the time to dig a bit deeper because you might find some inspiration for using data to improve your financial management.

Costs

Money spent processing payments is money you can’t invest in members and your facilities. A PSP’s headline fee structure should tell you everything you need to know. Finding yourself scanning the fine print? That’s a big red flag.

Speed of payment

How long the money takes to land in your account will vary according to the payment type. Direct Debits take around three working days to clear. Cards can be slightly faster but a lot more expensive. You can save you a lot of money in the long run by thinking carefully about how quickly you really need the cash in the bank.

Customer service

You may not need support often but you’ll want it to be there when you do. We recommended looking out for a PSP that provides a phone number. Digital payments can feel complicated at first and talking on the phone can be super reassuring.