Vanco Payment Gateway

The Vanco payment gateway will allow your attendees/registrants to pay for their event registration with a credit or debit card or a checking bank account or savings bank account.

View quick links for this payment gateway –>

Need to Buy a Support License for the Vanco Payment Method for Event Espresso 4?
Accept event payments with the Vanco payment gateway for Event Espresso

Installation

This payment gateway is a plugin for WordPress and can be installed through your WP dashboard (WP-admin).

Download the latest version of the Vanco payment gateway for Event Espresso 4 from your Event Espresso account page.

Then login to your WordPress dashboard (WP-admin) and go to Plugins. Next, click on Add New –> Upload and browse to the plugin on your computer. Then select the zip file and begin the upload process. Wait for the plugin to upload and then click on Activate.

Locate your Credentials for Vanco

Your credentials for Vanco will be assigned by a member of the Client Services team at Vanco. You’ll be provided with your Client ID, User ID, Password, and Encryption Key. That information can be entered in the payment methods page for Event Espresso within your WP dashboard and then click on the Update Settings button. You’ll then be ready to accept payments on your site.

Note: Debug mode should not be turned on as your production (live) credentials cannot be used for testing purposes. If you need to test Vanco, then we recommend creating a couple of ticket options (pricing options) with a value of at least $3. The $3 minimum is set by Vanco. Then afterward, you can refund the funds.

Will this be the only payment method enabled or the only one you offer? Click here to learn how to make it selected by default during the registration checkout.

Setup and Configuration

An account with Vanco is needed to accept payments via Vanco.

A dedicated SSL certificate is recommended to make registration checkout and other areas of your website more secure.

Login to your WP-admin (WP Dashboard) and go to Event Espresso –> General Settings –> Payment Methods. Once on the Payment Methods screen, click on Vanco and click on the button to activate the payment method.

Below are the available fields and explanations for each field.

Name – This is the name of the payment method.
Description – This description is shown during registration checkout.
Admin-Only Name – This is a name of the payment method that will only be shown in the WP Dashboard (WP-admin).
Admin-Only Description – This description is used only in the WP Dashboard (WP-admin).
Debug Mode On? – Enables debugging for this payment method. It should be off (set to no) on a live/production site.
Open by Default? – This sets this payment method to be pre-selected on the registration checkout page.

You can offer multiple payment options to your attendees. However, if you have a single payment gateway enabled, then set it to Open by Default for a faster checkout experience for your attendees.

Vanco Client ID – This credential is needed to process payments and can be found in your Vanco account, this is your Vanco Unique identifier for the organization.
Vanco User ID – This credential is needed to process payments and can be found in your Vanco account, it is your Vanco 8 character Web Services user ID.
Vanco Password – This credential is needed to process payments, it is your Vanco alphanumeric password.
Your unique Vanco Encryption Key – This credential is needed to process payments and can be found in your Vanco account. It is a unique Encryption Key provided by Vanco for each user.
Allow only Debit Cards – This allows you to set if transactions should only be allowed when a Debit card is being used. This will remove the option to pay via a Checking/Savings account and decline the payment if a Credit Card is used.
Button URL – This is the URL to the image that will be used during the payment process of registration checkout.
Alternative Button URL: https://ee-screenshots.s3.amazonaws.com/2015/07/vanco-payment-solutions.png

Alternative Button URL: https://ee-screenshots.s3.amazonaws.com/2015/07/pay-by-credit-card.png

Usable From? – Select where this payment method should be available for use. This payment method cannot process payments through the WP-admin (WP Dashboard).
Update Settings – Click this button after making any changes to your payment method.
Deactivate Payment Method – Click this button to deactivate this payment method.

Usage

The Vanco payment gateway will let you accept payments via credit or debit card or a checking bank account or savings bank account. It is a good fit for churches and other non-profit organizations.

This is an onsite payment gateway which means that attendees/registrants will process their payment on your site.

An account with Vanco is needed to accept payments via Vanco Payments Solutions, and an SSL certificate is recommended for securing your website.

Troubleshooting

I configured Vanco and payments are not being processed. Can you help?
Double-check your credentials and ensure that debug mode is off. Test mode (debugging mode) cannot be enabled with your production credentials that will be assigned by Client Services at Vanco. Also, ensure that there is no extra spacing before or after the credentials in the payment methods page of Event Espresso.

When making a payment, there is an error message that shows ‘Blocked IP’, what is this?
This means Vanco has blocked your servers IP address from their servers and you will need to contact the Client Services team directly to have them remove the block. This can happen if the incorrect credentials have been used within the payment method or if there is a problem during the login request to Vanco before a payment is initiated. First confirm that the credentials used are correct, if so contact your web hosting provider and confirm your server supports SNI (find out what SNI is here) as if not the login request will continue to fail and cause the IP to be blocked once again.

How can I set up a recurring payment or subscription through Vanco?
Recurring or subscription payments are not currently supported in the Vanco payment gateway.

When I refund a payment, does it also refund through Vanco?
Refunds in Event Espresso 4 are currently a two-step process.
1) Apply the refund through the transactional details screen of Event Espresso in your WP-admin (WP dashboard).
2) Then login to your Vanco merchant account and process the refund.

Is an SSL certificate needed for Vanco?
A dedicated SSL certificate is recommended if you are accepting payments on your website.

Do I need to be PCI compliant?
Compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards ( PCI DSS) is required if you are processing, storing, or transmitting credit card data. Event Espresso recommends using a dedicated SSL certificate on your website.

View more information on PCI compliance from Vanco Payment Solutions.

Customizations

Our support team cannot write custom coding for you. Below are some examples on customizing this payment gateway.

None at this time — check back soon!