Recurring payments, How it works

Recurring payments process

The standard recurring payment process allows you to easily charge your customer on a recurring basis. This is a suitable solution for monthly or annual subscriptions.

The standard process is as follows:

1. The customer creates the original transaction by processing the first payment with a credit card as payment method (Visa, Mastercard or American Express). This is done on the website by selecting a product and/or service, and by finalizing the credit card payment

2. The result of a successful payment is the receipt of the recurring_id in the order details of a successful transaction. Retrieve the order details of a transaction through a GET request. For further information on how to retrieve an order available in our API documentation

3. A recurring payment is created using the recurring_id provided in the original transaction. The charge is applied using the same payment details as the initial payment.

SEPA Direct Debit

Through SEPA Direct Debit, payments from international bank account numbers (IBAN) can be processed, as a one-off or as a recurrent withdrawal. This only applies to private banking. SOFORT Banking and iDEAL are supported as Direct Debit payment methods.

Full API documentation on Direct Debit can be found on our dedicated FAQ page, Direct Debit explained

Pre-notification

According to European law, merchants who use recurring payments should inform their customers about any charges being made. This can be done by email, but it is sufficient to include this in your General Terms & Conditions provided the customer has explicitly agreed to those Terms & Conditions.

Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard or American Express)

1. The customer selects a credit card as payment method on the website of the merchant
2. The customer submits a payment
3. If the payment was successful, you will receive a recurring payment ID in the transaction details which can be used for recurring payments.

MultiSafepay automatically uses the Site Description and Order ID to show on the customers bank statements. This way the customer can easily recognize the payments.

Retry a failed recurring payment

When the transaction is declined, the reason will be supplied in the response of the transaction. The transaction may, for example, be refused due to insufficient funds. MultiSafepay does not provide automated retry functionality for recurring payments. It is the responsibility of the merchant to contact the customer or try and charge the customer again after a sufficient period of time.

Create an initial transaction

View the API documentation on how to create a standard transaction.

The Initial Payment - Status update request

When recurring is enabled in your MultiSafepay Control, you will receive a recurring ID when you do a retrieve an order request. A sample response is shown below.

GET - /orders/{order_id}

  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "transaction_id": "",

Response

"payment_details": {
  "recurring_id": "",

Processing Subsequent Payments - JSON request

The recurring request is similar to the initial payment. However, in order to submit a recurring payment, you need to include the recurring ID in the gateway info section of the request. By including the recurring ID in this request, you do not have to include any bank account or credit card details in the request. An example of this is shown below. You should still offer the customer details, amount and especially an order description.

All actual recurring payment transactions use parameter type “direct” instead of “redirect”.

POST - /orders

  "type": "direct", 
  "order_id": "", 
  "recurring_id": "" 

Always use the correct payment gateway for each payment method used. Visa, Mastercard or American Express should be sent as gateway within the JSON request. More information about this can be found in the standard integration manual on our API Documentation page.