TicketSignup is a PCI Level 1 Payment Facilitator that has helped more than 11,000 organizations raise more than $1.5 Billion. By combining integrated payment processing with our free event technology, TicketSignup helps organizations grow ticket sales, sell merchandise, fundraise, and engage supporters.
Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about getting started with accepting payments on TicketSignup.
- Who from my organization should set up the payment account (CFO/treasurer, director, etc) or can I (volunteer/event organizer) just do it?
- Can I use the same account that I use for our registration event(s) on RunSignup? Do I need to create a payment account each time I set up a ticket event?
- Why do I have to give information about myself if payments are going to a company/organization?
- Why do I need to provide the Tax ID for my company/organization?
- Why do you ask for the last 4 digits of my social security number, or in some cases, for my full social security number?
- Can I test the platform? I’m not ready to set up my payment account right now.
- My Payment Account says Pending Approval. How do I get this approved immediately?
- I don’t know the person on the payment account we’ve been using/the person no longer works for the organization. What do I do?
- How will TicketSignup pay my organization?
- How frequently will my organization be paid?
- What is TicketSignup’s holdback policy?
Payment Account Setup
Who from my organization should set up the payment account (CFO/treasurer, director, etc) or can I (volunteer/event organizer) just do it?
Only Officers can set up a payment account. For most organizations, this is typically the president, vice president, CFO, and/or CEO. If you are not an officer, you can easily invite an officer to set up the payment account by choosing Other Options and sending an email invite.
Can I use the same account that I use for our registration event on RunSignup? Do I need to create a payment account each time I set up a ticket event?
Your organization can use the same payment account that you use for registration on RunSignup. You will be able to use the same payment account for all entities (events, Emails, websites, etc.) that you create on the platform.
If you are the owner of a payment account on RunSignup, you will see the option to link an Existing Payment Account.
If you are not the owner but have been a director of an entity on RunSignup, you will see the option to request to link a payment account. If you choose a payment account under this option, we will automatically send an email to the owner(s) of the payment account to link the payment account to the entity that you are setting up. This helps to save time while ensuring that only payment account owners can approve or reject which entities can accept payments with the payment account.
Why do I have to give information about myself if payments are going to a nonprofit organization?
Banking and credit card processing rules say that we need to verify the identity of individuals who ask us to set up payment accounts on behalf of a legal entity (Know Your Customer (KYC) rules). This is intended to prevent money laundering, tax avoidance, sellers not delivering goods and services purchased, and high credit card chargeback rates. This is analogous to setting up a new bank account or a merchant account with a payment facilitator like PayPal, Square, or Stripe. In either case they will verify your identity even if you are setting up a nonprofit account.
Why do I need to provide the Tax ID for my organization?
TicketSignup asks for this information for two reasons. The first is that it helps us verify the legitimacy of a legal entity and ensure that it meets our platform requirements. It is one of the Know Your Customer (KYC) data elements that can be verified to determine if an entity has been properly registered and exists. This is important in our role as a Payment Facilitator to prevent money laundering, funding terrorist activities, and other fraud.
Secondly if we process $20,000 or more than 200 transactions on your behalf we are required to issue the legal entity we have verified a 1099-K at year-end. When we authorize your payment account we don’t know how much money we will collect on your behalf. It is easier and more efficient for us and for you to ask you for the Tax ID number up front when you set up the account rather than later in the year when you pass the 1099 threshold.
Why do you ask for the last 4 digits of my social security number, or in some cases, for my full social security number?
Banking and credit card processing rules say that we need to verify the identity of individuals who ask us to set up payment accounts on behalf of a legal entity (Know Your Customer (KYC) rules). The last 4 digits of your social security number is one of the data elements we can use to verify your identity.
This is analogous to setting up a new bank account or a merchant account with a Payment Facilitator like PayPal, Square or Stripe. In either case, they will verify your identity if you are setting up either a personal or business account.
Can I test the platform? I’m not ready to set up my payment account right now.
Yes. You can test the platform by selecting Other Options, then Test Mode. Use Volunteer and Free Event Mode if you do not plan to process any registration, ticket, or donation transactions. Note that we do require a payment account to use TicketSignup’s free Email Marketing to ensure that it is not being used to send spam or inappropriate content. You will be able to add your payment account at any time.
My Payment Account says Pending Approval/Pending TicketSignup Approval. How do I get this approved immediately?
Your payment account is currently being reviewed by our Risk Team or possibly by the processing bank.
Please be patient as the review process may take a full business day (typically less than 24 hours). Should there be any issues, our Underwriting Risk Team will reach out to you. If you would like more information on the status of your pending payment account, please contact finance@ticketsignup.io.
Note: Your payment account will not be able to accept transactions until your Payment Account is approved by our Risk Team. To avoid any delays, we recommend you set up your Payment account information at least several days before you plan to open registration whenever possible.
I don’t know the person on the payment account we’ve been using/the person no longer works for the organization. What should I do?
We recommend that the original payment account owner give access to the new Officer upon leaving the organization.
If this is not feasible, the new person must set up a new payment account because the information from the previous payment account is outdated. This way, we ensure the information we collect is correct and up-to-date.
Getting Paid
How will TicketSignup pay my organization?
You will be able to choose whether you want to receive payments via direct deposit or check when you create your payment account. Note that there is a $10 fee per check issued. You can change how your organization is paid at any time by navigating to My Payment Accounts from your profile.
How frequently will my organization be paid?
If you are receiving payments via direct deposit, funds will be paid on a weekly basis. You can also choose a monthly payment or hold payments until the end of your event or campaign. We transfer all settled funds (other than holdbacks) as soon as they are available from our credit card processing company. Following is an example of the flow of funds for weekly payments for Direct Deposit:
- Collection Period —Payments collected and settled* on your behalf for weekly payment.
- ACH Initiation Day — An ACH is initiated on Tuesday of each week for weekly payment to you. You should expect to receive funds in one or two days depending on your bank’s processing rules.
- Transactions up to 6:00 PM ET on the last day of the collection period for Visa/Mastercard/Discover/Amex.*
If you are receiving payments via check, payments will be released any week your entity is owed at least $1,000 or when the oldest transaction is 90 days (other than holdbacks). There is a $10 fee per check issued. We issue a check for all settled funds (other than those you designate to be held in escrow for refunds) as soon as they are available from our credit card processing company. Following is an example of the flow of funds for weekly payments for Checks:
- Collection Period — Payments collected and settled* on your behalf for weekly payment.
- Payment Initiation Day – Checks are issued on Tuesday with a $10 fee.
- Transactions up to 6:00 PM ET on the last day of the collection period for Visa/Mastercard/Discover/Amex. *
* Note: Weeks with banking holidays may delay the payment.
What is TicketSignup’s holdback policy?
Unlike other platforms like Eventbrite, TicketSignup pays out on a weekly basis to ensure organizations receive funds to produce your event. We have implemented policies that allow cash flow to your organization while upholding both our obligations and your obligations to credit card holders as a payment processor.
- 2.5% on all registrations and tickets until after the event. For example, if you collect $10,000, we hold $250 to cover risk of chargebacks.
- 0% on donations, memberships, and invoices
Following an event, we will pay out all funds per the schedule above unless there are more than 3 chargebacks or more than 0.1% of registrations with a chargeback (this applies to larger events, so a 10,000 person event would have to have over 10 chargebacks). If the event meets or exceeds that chargeback threshold, the 2.5% will be subject to a 21 day delay to ensure there are no additional chargebacks.