Every organisation that uses Spektrix and takes card payments in person or over the phone will need a Payment Service Provider, a Merchant Bank and a Payment Gateway.
Before we explain Spektrix Payments, we’ll cover some of the terminology used in this article, such as Payment Service Provider, Payment Gateway and Merchant Bank. You’ll also find links to other helpful resources.
This article is for Spektrix Payments users in all regions. If you use Opayo, Worldpay, Authorize.net or Moneris, read our article on Banks and Merchant Numbers.
What is a Payment Service Provider?
A Payment Service Provider (PSP) enables you to process card payments via a Payment Gateway. A Payment Service Provider sits between your Spektrix system and your Merchant Bank.
As well as providing a payment gateway, a PSP enables you to configure your own fraud protection rules and provides features such as 3D Secure and Address Checking.
What is a Payment Gateway?
A Payment Gateway is the technology responsible for authenticating and transmitting payment data securely between the parties involved in the payment process.
Once a payment is authorised by the Merchant Bank (also known as the Acquiring Bank), the Payment Gateway sends this verification back to the Merchant.
What is a Merchant Bank?
A Merchant Bank (also known as an Acquiring Bank) is an organisation that facilitates card processing. A Merchant Bank will transfer the income received from card transactions into your Business Bank Account.
When you set up a Merchant account, you’ll be given Merchant Numbers (also known as MIDs) for each sales channel you use.
Occasionally, some Merchant Banks will combine some of these into one multi channel number.
The three main channels are:
- Moto (Mail Order/Telephone Order): Used when performing any transactions over the phone.
- Ecommerce: Used for online sales.
- EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale): Used for in person card payments.
You may also want to set up a fourth Merchant Number for Continuous Authority.
What is Spektrix Payments?
Spektrix Payments is an all-in-one payments solution and consolidates your Payment Service Provider, Payment Gateway and Merchant Bank into one platform. This gives your teams a more streamlined, more reliable experience.
Spektrix Payments offers additional features such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. These payment methods aren’t currently supported by other payment solutions that integrate with Spektrix.
How Spektrix Payments compares to other solutions
Spektrix Payments is powered by Adyen, a large, industry-leading, modern payments platform. We’ve combined their payments technology with our expertise in the arts to unlock features for Spektrix users and develop a cutting edge payments solution.
With Spektrix Payments, the Merchant Bank, Payment Service Provider and Payment Gateway are combined.
In the image below, you’ll see the payment flow for users of Opayo, Worldpay, Authorize.Net and Moneris:
Spektrix Payments
In the image below, you’ll see the payment flow for Spektrix Payments users. As Spektrix is an all-in-one payment solution the Merchant Bank, Payment Service Provider and Payment Gateway are combined on Adyen’s platform:
In-person Payments
In the image below, you’ll see the in-person payment flow for users of Opayo, Worldpay, Authorize.net and Moneris, compared to Spektrix Payments.
Users of Opayo, Worldpay, Authorize.net and Moneris connect a payment device to a PC using locally installed software. As Spektrix is cloud based, you'll need to use the Box Office App. The Box Office App lets Spektrix communicate with the payment device installed on your PC.
Spektrix Payments is cloud based, therefore you won’t need to use the Box Office App, or install any device software locally to take in-person payments.
TIP: If you print paper Tickets, you’ll still use the Box Office app to connect your Ticket Printers to Spektrix.
Spektrix Payments provides several benefits over and above other payment solutions that integrate with Spektrix. We’ve listed some of the benefits below.
Hardware
Users of Spektrix Payments will receive free Payment Terminals to process in-person transactions. Your Payment Terminal is set up and ready to use once you’ve unboxed it and connected it to your Wi-Fi network.
In certain circumstances, Spektrix will supply wireless Payment Terminals, for example, if you have a floating box office, or hold outdoor Events.
All Spektrix Payments Terminals meet PCI (Payment Card Industry) standards and have E2EE (End-to-End Encryption) for enhanced security.
In-house Card Processing support
Onboarding and day-to-day support for card processing is handled by our Support Team. This means you’ll only ever need to contact Spektrix if you have any payment queries.
Automatic updating of Stored Cards
A Stored Card can be used to automatically renew memberships, or make a purchase in the Sales Interface without having to enter any card details (except the CV2/CVV).
When a Customer’s card expires or is reissued, their card details are automatically updated in the Wallet section of the Customer’s Record. You won’t need to contact your Customers to ask them to update their card details.
Real-Time Payments
Spektrix Payments offers access to real time reporting of all payment channels, including Chip and PIN.
Non Spektrix Payments users may have to wait up to 24 hours to view a card payment in their Payment Service Provider’s portal. Spektrix Payments Users can see this in Adyen’s Essential Dashboard immediately.
Apple Pay and Google Pay
Customers can already make in-person purchases using Apple Pay and Google Pay wallets on their phone.
As a Spektrix Payments user, you’ll be able to offer Apple Pay and Google Pay as payment methods for online purchases.
TIP: To use Apple Pay, a Customer must use an Apple device and the Safari browser when buying online. The device and browser must be updated to the latest version.
Your customers will be able to complete their purchase on your website by logging into their Apple or Google account. Any payments will be taken from a credit or debit card linked to the customer’s Apple or Google account.
TIP: Apple Pay and Google Pay are only available with Express Checkout.
Further Reading
If you're thinking of moving to Spektrix Payments, you may find the following articles helpful:
We'd suggest reading these articles first. When you're ready to move to Spektrix Payments, please get in touch with our Support team.
This article should give you an Introduction to Spektrix Payments. To learn more about Spektrix Payments, visit the Manage Payments section of the Support Centre.