Chargent supports many payment method types, including checks, cash, credit cards, and bank accounts. Many customers prefer to pay with a bank account and routing number to lower their transaction fees. This page focuses on considerations when taking bank account payments in Salesforce using Chargent.
At some point in your payment process planning, you’ll need to determine if you want to accept bank account transactions, credit card transactions, or both. To review the benefits of each, we’ve put together some information that may help you decide. See ACH Payments Versus Credit Cards.
Bank Account Transaction Support #
A bank account transaction, also referred to as an e-check, Automated Clearing House (ACH), or Direct Debit, is an electronic funds transfer from your bank account as payment for products or services. To determine if your gateway supports bank account transactions, review Chargent’s Gateway-Specific Guides. Search for the section on Setting Up Your Direct Debit Network for instructions on accepting bank account transactions to process payment electronically through Chargent.
Direct Debit Networks #
Chargent allows you to select from many Direct Debit Networks, depending on the regions you do business in. By selecting the correct Direct Debit Network (ACH, EFT, BECS, and SEPA), you can be sure that your Payment Console and Payment Request forms use the correct network and terminology. The Direct Debit Network feature is available only for Gateways that support Bank Account Drafts and is set up using the Gateway Setup Wizard.
Chargent supports the following Direct Debit Networks:
- ACH – US (aka echeck or electronic check)
- EFT (ACSS) – Canada (aka Electronic Funds Transfer)
- BECS – Australia
- SEPA – Europe
Note: Please see our Gateway Documentation to see if your Gateway supports Bank Account transactions for your required regions.
Once your Direct Debit Network is set, the appropriate field names are included in your Payment Requests as well as your internal Payment Console.
Bank Account Field Requirements #
The following fields are required on the Chargent Order record in order to create a successful transaction at your gateway:
Billing Address Fields:
- Billing First Name
- Billing Last Name
- Billing Address
- Billing City
- Billing State
- Billing Zip/Postal
Payment Information Fields:
- Bank Account Name: The name of your bank (For example, ‘Chase’ or ‘Wells Fargo’)
- Bank Account Number
- Bank Routing Number
If you’re creating a Chargent order record from scratch, ensure you also populate the following fields:
- Bank Account Type: Choose ‘Checking’, ‘Savings’, or ‘Business Checking’.
- Payment Method: ‘Bank Account’
Additionally, each gateway has different requirements when sending a bank account payment. Please consult with your gateway provider for more information.
Naming Conventions #
Chargent keeps your customers’ personal information safe by masking their bank account information. However, you can tell which transactions were processed using the masked bank information. This information can be found under the “Electronic Check” header on the Chargent Order. Specifically, see the fields called Bank Account Details, Bank Account Last 4, and Bank Routing Number. The Transaction record will only store Bank Account Last 4.
If Payment Methods is enabled in your org, you can identify a bank account payment method by its nickname. For bank account and routing number, the Chargent Payment Method Name displays [Bank Account Network Type] – [First 5 digits of routing number] – [last 4 digits of account number]. For example: ACH-54321-1234
Authorization and Validation #
You can run authorizations without charging a customer for credit cards only. Most gateways only validate account and routing numbers to ensure the account is valid. Yet, they do not hold funds to process later. Instead, your gateway may validate US bank accounts on the ACH network using ACH Validation before attempting to process payments. Some gateways even confirm an available balance. Contact your gateway to learn about any gateway-specific features.
Payment Methods #
Chargent can save your customers time by allowing them to store multiple payment methods for future use. We highly recommend enabling this feature for its convenience. See Implementing Payment Methods for instructions.
Settlement #
Electronic payments (ACH, e-check, or Direct Debit) can take several days to settle. Your gateway attempts the process immediately but the time it takes to process depends on your payment processor. If supported by your payment processor, an ACH transaction can settle within the same day but could take 7 days. Contact your payment processor for more information.
Chargent can sync your ACH transactions from the time they are initiated until they are settled. For more information, see Transaction Sync.
Tokenization #
To tokenize or not, that is the question. Chargent always recommends tokenization to keep payment information secure and minimize your risks. But feel free to review Understanding Tokenization to determine if it is right for your business.
Transaction Types #
Chargent supports many types of transactions. However, bank account payments do not support authorizations as credit card payments do. For more information, see Understanding Chargent Transactions.
See Also
Understanding Credit Card Payments
Chargent Terminology
Chargent Quick Start Guide
Understanding Transaction Settlement
