Create script for doing credit card pay-ins of specified [large] value

[patcon]

@rcross (@certifiedtorock on gittip) is international and so credit card charges are expensive. They wanted to top up for a year of tipping, but got stuck in support limbo for over a week since it's not a common request. We should create a script for this.

IRC | Freskdesk ticket

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[rcross]

It would make a lot of sense to allow users the ability to top up their account balance with an arbitrary amount without requiring manual assistance.

I think this also goes towards the idea of making it easier for less technical people to provide funding via the platform by streamlining their initial "purchase"

[patcon]

Yeah, most anything we create scripts for will ideally have a UI down the line, but it's just more manageable to create one-offs in the interim :)

[bruceadams]

Doing this manually wasn't too bad, especially if we get the Gittip URL for the customer on Balanced straightened out. I certainly agree with @rcross that we want to make this self service. Self-service immediate charges to credit cards changes our fraud exposure in ways I haven't fully thought out.

[seanlinsley]

@rcross I'm currently working on adding the ability for people to choose the amount they want to fund their account with whenever their balance runs low (#1063). For example:

Is that acceptable? I'm hard-pressed to think up a scenario where someone would want to fund their account with a custom amount once, but not in the future.

[rummik]

@seanlinsley A kind of workaround for oneoffs?

[seanlinsley]

IRC

[rcross]

I feel i have a legitimate use case for once-off payins, and I think there are probably others, though I agree they are probably not common use cases. As long as I can adjust the recharge amount to an arbitrary value and whenever I want, then I think it would be a suitable work-around for my usecase.

I had in mind a system where I could simply trigger a cc charge to top up my account balance whenever I wanted. I think this is particularly useful when are first setting up their accounts. It would also make a lot of sense for an initial amount to be charged to a cc whenever they are first connected to the account (and probably any other payin methods, paypal, etc).

In a related way, in order for gittip to get wider adoption, there needs to be a much more streamlined system for people to simply "purchase" a recurring donation to a particular person. The shopping cart model may or may not work here, but at least in some regards I should be able to see a persons gittip widget or profile and (without having an account/logged in) be able to give them something with a couple clicks and some cc details. Compare the current UI/workflow for getting your first donation onto gittip vs filling out a paypal recurring charge form. https://developer.paypal.com/docs/classic/paypal-payments-standard/integration-guide/subscribe_buttons/

In regards to fraud, I don't see how an immediate cc charge is any different to purchasing something off any other website. Select product, checkout, charged, done - fraudulent or not, except that gittip isn't actually giving product, so an audit (and internal backcharges) should be able to resolve the majority of fraud in my opinion.

[rcross]

to clarify my usecase, I want to be able to top-up my account for an annual or quarterly balance and then let other team members decide how to distribute that out to people. This helps me limit cc fees, and also provides some autonomy to the account management

[rcross]

just noting that it appears that #1063 also touches on this

[rcross]

also these:
#760 / #113
#1944

[chrism]

Hi,

Just would like to add my support for a feature to be able to top-up my account with an arbitrary amount.

My credit card provider charges around $2 per international transaction & as my sole intention is to tip a few people for their work it seems prohibitively expensive to use this service with the current payment processes.

I'm sure there are plenty of other people in my situation — being able to transfer something like $50 dollars as and when required would be perfect for my needs.

Thanks!

[dsernst]

+1

Because I suspect this will be much more appealing to get started using the
service for the large majority of people. As a comparison, NYC subway uses
paper cards that carry a balance for you. There is an option to link it to
a cc for automatic refillings, but the vast majority of people I know
(myself included) choose to fill it up manually.

On Wednesday, August 13, 2014, Chris Masters notifications@github.com
wrote:

Hi,

Just would like to add my support for a feature to be able to top-up my
account with an arbitrary amount.

My credit card provider charges around $2 per international transaction &
as my sole intention is to tip a few people for their work it seems
prohibitively expensive to use this service with the current payment
processes.

I'm sure there are plenty of other people in my situation — being able to
transfer something like $50 dollars as and when required would be perfect
for my needs.

Thanks!

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub
#2221 (comment)
.

[nobodxbodon]

Re-ticketed to support more means of payin and payout for further discussion and planning. After deciding on concrete implementation plan and dev work starts, this will be reopened for tracking purpose.