inLeague-Platform-Fees,-Stripe-Fees,-and-Refunds.md

@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ How and when platform fees apply depends on the mechanism used (see below). **St
 
 Any program, activity, or event for which inLeague is used in any capacity to manage or register players or volunteers that also collects fees must use inLeague to collect those fees. Exceptions are made depending on the particular requirements of the program (e.g. participation in an external provider of youth sports by a team originating in inLeague) where it is not possible to use inLeague. Absent such an exception, no event or program may be hosted on inLeague that collects a fee if that fee is collected offline or elsewhere.
 
-## Stripe Fees and Refunds
+## Stripe Fees and Refunds - Credit Cards (2.7% + 30 cents); add'l fees for International Cards
 
-Stripe ordinarily charges 2.9% + 30 cents of all transactions; inLeague has negotiated this down to 2.7% + 30 cents for all of our customers.
+Stripe ordinarily charges 2.9% + 30 cents of all transactions; inLeague has negotiated this down to 2.7% + 30 cents for all of our customers. International cards are assessed an additional 1.5% fee and/or 1% for currency conversion;  leagues control whether to accept these cards in their Stripe dashboards.
 
 Long ago, credit card fees were not charged on transactions refunded prior to 'settling' (within the first 12-24 hours after the original charge). This is no longer the case. **Stripe fees are non-refundable.**
 
@@ -32,6 +32,30 @@ Stripe (and inLeague) will still allow a full refund, but the league is responsi
 
 inLeague recommends the use of holdbacks whenever possible and as we migrate our legacy reports to the 20th Anniversary Edition platform, we will make the Stripe transaction fees (which are already visible in the transaction ledger) as transparent as possible whenever refunds are being issued.
 
+## Stripe Fees - ACH Direct Debit (0.8%, max of $5; $1.50 verification; failure fees)
+
+Beginning in 2025, leagues may now accept payments via ACH Direct Debit. These payments have greatly reduced fees, but work slightly differently from credit card transactions. The biggest difference is that credit card transactions are approved or declined instantly: ACH Direct Debit has **variable settlement timing**, described in detail in the [Stripe Documentation. ](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/ach-direct-debit)Typically, funds are debited from the customer's account one business day after the transaction is processed, and then settle in your league's Stripe account 4 business days after the transaction is processed. The exact timing depends on the customer's bank and may be faster, but is unlikely to be slower. Other significant differences: 
+
+* Before a customer can pay via ACH Debit, they must **verify** their bank account when they add it as a payment method to their inLeague account. This only needs to be done once: after an account is verified, it can be used to make any payment through inLeague. There are two types of verification:
+  * **Instant Verification** through which the customer logs into their bank and establishes a direct link between Stripe and their bank (which may only be used by your league). This allows the customer to pay via ACH Debit immediately, but carries a fee of **$1.50**, regardless of whether or not the customer actually pays via direct debit, or even pays at all.
+  * **Manual verification** in which the customer enters their account and routing number and Stripe then makes **microdeposits** -- usually two transactions of less than $1. This can take 1-2 days and the customer cannot pay via ACH Debit (and potentially not complete registration or whatever payment they were attempting) until it is complete.
+* Payments may be **declined** after they are initiated, meaning a registration could be activated based on the presumption of a successful payment, but then canceled if the customer's bank reports insufficient funds or incorrect account details. If a payment fails in this manner, Stripe will assess a fee of **$4.00** to the league (not to the customer!). 
+
+In the event a customer disputes either a credit card or ACH Debit payment, Stripe charges the league $15, regardless of how the dispute is resolved. inLeague does not have anything to do with these fees or with the dispute process; they are handled directly between the league and Stripe.
+
+### Requiring Payment via ACH Direct Debit
+
+At your discretion, you may enforce the use of ACH Direct Debit for payments above a certain amount (or even for all payments). inLeague recommends requiring ACH Debit for high dollar amount transactions; consider a fee of **$1,000**:
+
+* Stripe's **Credit Card** fees would be **$27.30**
+* Stripe's **ACH Direct Debit** fee would be **$5**
+
+ This restriction can be assigned for most types of payments:
+
+* For **Registration** payments, enable ACH Direct Debit under **Program Administration** and enter a value when prompted to enforce ACH Direct Debit.
+* For **Event** payments, enable ACH Direct Debit in the Add/Edit event page and enter a value when prompted to enforce ACH Direct Debit.
+* For **Tournament** payments, enable ACH Direct Debit in the Tournament setup fee section.
+
 ## Player Registration
 
 * **Platform Fees: $3 + 3%** of each registration transaction. It is not currently possible to register multiple players in a single transaction, although it is possible to register a player for multiple programs in a single transaction.