Payment plans are a great way to make your event more affordable and increase ticket sales. With Humanitix, you can offer attendees the option to secure their tickets immediately and pay over time through automatic payments on their debit or credit card.
Why offer Humanitix payment plans?
Lock in buyers early
Offer the most compelling plans during early on-sale.
Make purchases more attainable.
Spread the cost over many weeks or months
More plan flexibility than BNPL solutions (e.g, Afterpay, Zip or Klarna)
Not restricted to 'Pay in 4'.
Boost your conversion rates
Make it easier to say 'Yes!'
Easier to upsell customers
Makes it more affordable for customers to lean in to more products (VIP packages, Accommodation, Workshop experiences, etc.)
How do payment plans work?
Create one or multiple payment plans for your event
including the payment frequency (weekly or monthly), number of payments and any layby fees, cancellation fees, and/or deposit.
At checkout, Buyers can choose to "pay now" or "pay over time" using your payment plan
The total order cost is split into regular payments charged automatically to the buyer's card
Tickets are reserved, but access is restricted until the buyer completes their payment plan in full
Create a new payment plan
Payment plans are currently on an invite-only basis.
If you do not see payment plans as an available option, please get in touch with the Humanitix support team.
Payment plans are currently only available for events running on Stripe and Airwallex payment gateways.
To create a new payment plan, you'll need to manage your event and enable payment plans as an available payment method.
Navigate to payments and fees > gateways on the left-hand menu
Click set up under payment plans
Click + new plan
Give your payment plan a name
Plan names appear at checkout. Keep it short, clear and reference the schedule of payments you want to offer, e.g. "Pay in 6 weeks".Set the availability, configuration and any additional surcharges
Read on to learn how to configure a plan in detail
Availability
You can choose when your payment plan will appear, including specific start and end dates, or to only show for orders between specific order totals.
By default, a payment plan will always appear for all order sizes and ticket types. They will stop appearing when the last payment of that plan cannot be made before the event start date.
Payment plans cannot be limited to specific ticket types. They will apply to all orders as long as the availability parameters are met.
Payment configuration
When creating a payment plan, you can control how payments will be charged - weekly or monthly - and how many payments a buyer will make.
Frequency
Set whether payments are made weekly or monthly.
Minimum and Maximum payments
Control the minimum number of payments and the maximum number of payments that a buyer must pay. Setting a maximum is optional. If left blank, the total number of payments will automatically be calculated.
Why set a minimum or maximum number of payments?
Setting a minimum can help control the pacing of the payment plan and ensure a meaningful spread of payments, e.g. 4 payments instead of 2 to make it a more enticing and "budget-friendly" option.
Setting a maximum can help simplify payment plans for buyers, minimise the possibility of declined payments and customer enquiry admin that could arise from too many payments. It can also help ensure all payments are made before the event
A combination of minimum and maximum payments can also create well-defined payment plan options, such as "Pay over 6 weeks". In this case, the minimum AND maximum is set to '6' weeks.
Final payment date
By default, all payment plans must be completed before the event start date; however, you can manually set a final payment date, which is the last date by which all payments must be made.
This can ensure all tickets are paid in full well ahead of your event date.
The plan will no longer appear at checkout if the payment plan cannot be completed before this date.
For example, a "Pay in 4 weeks" plan with a final due date of 1st September is created. A buyer purchasing a ticket on 7th August will not see this plan, since all 4 weekly payments cannot be completed before 1st September.
You cannot update the payment configuration of a payment plan once tickets have been sold using that plan.
You can choose to disable the plan for new buyers and create a new one.
Existing buyers who have used that plan will remain on the same payment settings.
Fees and deposits
You can choose to add a fee for using the payment plan, or increase the first payment amount a buyer must make through a deposit or cancellation fee.
By default, no additional fees or deposits are added to payment plans.
Toggle ON each option, if required.
Layby fee
A layby fee is an additional cost applied to the buyer's order total if they choose to pay via this plan. The layby fee is split across all payments.
Note: The income earned from layby fees is paid to Humanitix.
Add a percentage (%) or fixed amount layby fee to your plan.
Layby fees are optional. They are a great incentive for buyers to pay off their payment plans more quickly by choosing to settle their remaining balance before their plan's end date. Buyers can make payments via the manage order button on their confirmation email.
We recommend keeping layby fees a small or nominal amount, such as a fixed '$/£5' - '$/£15'.
Deposit
Deposits are a percentage (%) or fixed amount of the order total included in the first payment. It is not an additional amount added to the order total.
Deposits are optional. Buyers will always pay the deposit in their first payment and any passed-on booking fees for the entire order. The remaining balance is paid off over the entire plan.
For example, a "Pay weekly with $50 deposit" plan is created. A buyer purchased a ticket priced at "$100" with a booking fee of "5". They will pay $55 in their first payment and the remaining $50 over time ($50 deposit + $5 in booking fees).
Cancellation fee
Cancellation fees, like deposits, are a percentage (%) or fixed amount of the order total included in the first payment when an order is made. It is not an additional amount added to the order total.
Cancellation fees are optional. While they behave like deposits, they are advertised as 'non-refundable'. They can be used to generate income upfront, prevent cancellation requests (if you offer them), and cover sunk costs if you choose to honour a cancellation request by refunding the balance.
Important things to note about payment plans
Humanitix payment plans are not a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution.
Humanitix payment plans are a form of Layby / Layaway solution.
Payment plans are always paid using a debit or credit card.
You cannot update a payment plan configuration once tickets have been sold using that plan. You can choose to disable the plan for new buyers. Existing buyers will continue to pay for the original configuration.
Partial refunds are not possible until the plan has been paid in full. Payments are calculated from the original order amount.
Once a plan has been completed, you, as the host, can process a refund as per normal. Buyers can request a refund by sending you an email message using the contact host button on the event page or confirmation email.
What does a buyer pay in the first payment?
When a buyer checks out with a payment plan, they will always pay in the first payment:
First payment towards the total value of tickets
Total Humanitix booking fee
1st charge of the layby fee (if applied) - these are split across all payments
The total deposit fee (if applied)
The total cancellation fee (if applied)
If the sum of items 2-5 is greater than any individual payment, then the first initial payment will be increased.
Example 1: A ticket for [100] is sold with a booking fee of [5] on a "Pay in 4 weeks" plan.
The first payment will be 26.25 (105 divided by 4). This includes the [5] booking fee and [21.25] in ticket sales. The remaining sale balance is collected in the following payments.
Example 2: A ticket is sold for [100] with a booking fee of [5] on a "Pay in 4 weeks" plan. A layby fee of [10] is added, and there is a [50] deposit.
The layby fee is added to the total order cost = [115] but split between all payments.
The deposit is included in the first payment and deducted from the order total.
In the first payment, the buyer pays [50] in ticket sales, the Humanitix fee [5] and the first layby fee installment [2.50] = $57.50*
*Note: there may be a 1 cent rounding to ensure the remaining balance can be evenly split across all other payments.
Why is my plan not appearing at checkout?
A payment plan won't appear at checkout if:
The plan has been disabled
The plan availability end date has passed
The final payment cannot be completed before the event start date, or a set final due date (optional).
The amount of a layby fee, deposit, or cancellation fee is greater than the order total.
The minimum order total requirement set in the configuration is not met. Verify and adjust the minimum order value if needed.
Tips for offering payment plans
The plan configurations you choose - or whether to offer payment plans at all - can really depend on your event. Payment plans are great for making your events more accessible by spreading the cost of large orders and getting early buy-in, and so should be paired with any marketing and promotional campaign you want to run
Payment plans to "lock in" an early bird price
Consider advertising payment plans as a great way to get in early and lock in a cheaper tier of tickets. Offering a low-entry deposit amount can be a great way to secure some funds upfront, get committed buyers, while also making it an easy and accessible option for everyone.
Deposit and cancellation amounts
The benefit of payment plans is that they make committing to a purchase more enticing. Ideal deposit or cancellation amounts can vary based on the nature of the event or item, and the typical order size - there is no one-size-fits-all.
Consider your typical buyer, their expectations, and the deposit/cancellation amounts relative to the total order price.
For example, a fixed amount of "$50" may seem like a great way to lock in $600 worth of festival tickets, while a 20% deposit may be suitable for a $3000 multi-week workshop or sports camp.
Requiring a deposit or cancellation fee can also help secure 'serious buyers' who are less likely to request a cancellation.
The buyer journey when using a payment plan
When completing their checkout, a buyer will have the option to pay now or pay over time and select one of the available payment plans.
Completing a purchase with a payment plan
Buyers are shown the initial payment to be made (today), the remaining balance, and the schedule of remaining payments. They will be charged the first payment amount to their card, and their tickets will be reserved.
Buyers will receive an order confirmation email letting them know their order has been reserved and their payment plan has started.
Buyers do not have access to any tickets until their payment plan has been paid in full.
Managing a payment plan
Buyers will be automatically charged each payment on the same card used for their purchase on the next scheduled payment date. They will receive a confirmation email after each successful or unsuccessful payment.
Buyers can click the manage order button on their order confirmation email to:
View all remaining payments and the remaining balance
Make a payment manually to pay off the remaining balance or the next upcoming payment
Make a payment for any overdue amount
Update the card used for all remaining payments
Missed payments
If a buyer's card cannot be charged for any reason, such as a blocked/ cancelled card or limited funds, they will be notified via email.
Humanitix will attempt to charge the overdue amount the next time a payment is due.
Buyers can make a manual payment for any overdue amounts using the manage order button on their order confirmation email.
Any payment plans that are still overdue past the payment plan's final payment date will be attempted weekly, regardless of the plan frequency.
Any payment plans that are still overdue past the event start date will be automatically cancelled.
FAQ's
Can a ticket purchased on a payment plan be listed for resale?
Tickets cannot be resold until all payments have been made, after which the resale tab in the manage order page of their order will appear. The entire face value of the ticket will always be refunded during a resale. Deposit or cancellation amounts are ignored. Layby fees are non-refundable.