Accept Bank Account (ACH) Payments

Members can pay from their checking account by ACH bank transfer instead of a credit card. ACH payments usually cost your school much less than card payments.

In NextKick, card payments are processed by Bluu and bank account (ACH) payments are processed by Stripe. Before you can accept ACH payments, you need to connect a Stripe account.

Once setup is complete, Bank transfer (ACH) is no longer marked Not enabled, and you can start collecting bank account details.

We highly recommend sending the parent a payment update link instead of entering bank details yourself:

There are three ways to send the link:

From the student's profile:

To one or more students at once, from the Profiles list:

A link is emailed to each selected student. This is the fastest way to move several families to ACH at once.

From a membership:

You can also enter a member's bank account yourself, but it requires a verification process before the account can be charged:

The bank account can't be charged until it's verified. If a payment is due soon, send a payment update link instead.

Note: Autopay switches to the new bank account automatically when the parent uses the payment update link. If the parent adds it in the student app, a pop-up asks whether to use it for autopay too. If an admin adds it, change the payment method on each membership. See How Autopay Works & What Happens When a Payment Fails.

ACH payments take a few business days to clear. In NextKick, a payment shows as Processing first, then changes to Paid once the bank confirms it.

An ACH payment can still fail during processing, for example if the account doesn't have enough funds.

ACH payments are charged at Stripe's standard rates:

Example: a $150 payment costs $1.20, and a $1,000 payment costs $5.00 (the cap). Card payments, by comparison, cost up to 2.9%.

Passing the fee on to members: you can add an ACH convenience fee in Settings → Payments → Fees. See Convenience Fees and Late Fees.

Failed ACH payments are handled differently from failed card payments:

To process a failed ACH payment again:

Before you click Pay Now, check with the parent that the account has enough funds or that they've updated their bank details. Otherwise the payment may fail again and cost another $4.

Why can't parents choose to pay by bank account?
Bank transfers aren't set up yet. Go to Settings → Payments → Payment Settings and click Set up bank transfers.

Do I need a Stripe account?
Yes, for ACH payments. You can create a new one or connect an existing one during setup. Card payments stay with Bluu.

What's the best way to add a parent's bank account?
Send them a payment update link. They enter their bank details themselves, there's no verification wait, and autopay updates automatically.

How do I send the payment update link to many families at once?
In Accounts → Profiles, check the students, then click Actions → Request payment info. A link is emailed to each one.

I entered a bank account manually. Why can't it be charged yet?
Manually entered bank accounts need to be verified first. A small deposit is sent to the account, which takes a few business days to arrive. The parent finds the code on that deposit, and either the parent or your school enters it to finish verification. To skip this, send a payment update link instead.

How much do ACH payments cost?
0.8% per payment, capped at $5. A failed payment costs $4, and a dispute costs $15.

Why does a payment say Processing?
ACH payments take a few business days to clear. The payment changes to Paid once the bank confirms it.

Are failed ACH payments retried automatically?
No. Each failed ACH payment costs a fee, so an admin needs to process it again with Pay Now. The membership stays active in the meantime.

A member switched from card to bank account. Will their convenience fee change?
No. A membership keeps its convenience fee when the payment method changes. If you charge a lower fee for ACH, update it on the membership with Actions → Edit billing schedule.