Payment Methods

ActiveManage supports a broad range of payment methods through its integrations with Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless, manual invoicing and offline methods. The exact set you offer depends on your audience, region and product type.

The Standard Set

• Card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex): Universal default; processed via Stripe.
• Apple Pay / Google Pay: One-tap purchase on supported devices; massive conversion lift.
• PayPal: Still important for consumers who prefer it; one-click for returning users.
• Direct Debit: BACS (UK), SEPA (EU), ACH (US) for recurring billing — much cheaper than card.
• Klarna / Afterpay / Clearpay: Buy-now-pay-later — boosts conversion on larger baskets.
• Invoice / Pay on Account: B2B — customer is invoiced and pays by bank transfer.
• Offline / Cash on Delivery: Niche but useful for events, in-person handovers.

Choosing Which to Enable

• Consumer eCommerce: Card + Apple Pay + Google Pay + PayPal + Klarna.
• B2B SaaS: Card + Direct Debit + Invoice.
• Marketplace: Card + Apple Pay + Google Pay + PayPal; each vendor can opt in to invoice for trusted buyers.
• Donation platform: Card + Apple Pay + Google Pay + PayPal — minimise friction.
• Subscription SaaS: Card + Direct Debit (cheaper renewals) + Invoice (enterprise).

Enabling Each Method

Each method has its own setup page under Site Settings → eCommerce → Payment Methods. They typically require linking accounts and may need DNS verification (Apple Pay) or KYC (Stripe Connect).

Note: Some methods have geographical restrictions — Klarna only certain regions, ACH only US, BACS only UK. The platform automatically hides methods that aren't valid for the buyer's billing country.

Sometimes you want to force a particular payment method on a specific cart, customer or product — bypassing the normal checkout chooser. This article shows when and how to do that.

Use Cases

• Subscriptions on direct debit: Force BACS/SEPA for plans where the margin doesn't support card fees.
• Enterprise invoicing: Force invoice for customers on net-30 terms.
• High-value transactions: Force bank transfer for orders over £10,000 to avoid card limits.
• Country-specific: Force iDEAL for Dutch customers, Bancontact for Belgian customers, where those are dominant.
• Cash on delivery: Force COD for high-fraud-risk countries or first orders.

Configuration Levels

• Per-product: Override on the product record (see “Payment method override”).
• Per-cart rule: Apply via a cart calculation rule when conditions match (e.g. cart total > £10k).
• Per-customer: Override on the customer record (e.g. “Always invoice this customer”).
• Per-tenant: Tenant-wide default (e.g. a B2B tenant forces invoice on every order).

Worked Examples

• SaaS: Yearly enterprise plans force invoice; monthly plans force card or direct debit.
• B2B marketplace: Approved customers can pay on invoice; unapproved must use card.
• European retailer: Country-detected force — iDEAL in Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium, card elsewhere.
• Charity: Recurring donations force direct debit (cheaper); one-off forces card (faster).

Tip: Communicate the forced method clearly on the product page. A surprised customer at checkout abandons more than a customer who knew up front.