Setting up Payment Methods in Event Espresso

Event Espresso supports a wide range of online and offline payment methods. This guide provides a overview of:

• Types of Payment Methods, including the flow of information while processing payments online.
• Configuring your payment options in Event Espresso

See the links at the bottom of this page for setting up and configuring specific payment methods (e.g. PayPal, Stripe or Stripe Checkout, Square, etc.).

Types of Payment Methods

• On-site (Direct) Payments — The user enters payment details directly on your website (e.g., Stripe, Authorize.net PayPal Commerce, Square, etc).
• Off-site Payments — Users are redirected to a third-party site to complete the transaction (e.g., PayPal Standard, Mollie, Sofort).
• Manual / Offline Methods — Payments handled outside the system (e.g., Invoice, Bank Transfer, Check).

When setting up payment options in Event Espresso, you’ll be asked to choose among  online and offline payment methods. You can have both offline and online payment methods active and available to customers simultaneously, but each online and offline payment methods have different pros and cons:

Online vs. Offline Payment Methods: What’s the Difference?

When setting up payment options in Event Espresso, you’ll be asked to choose between online and offline payment methods. Here’s how they differ:

Online Payment Methods

Online payment methods process transactions automatically through a payment gateway (like Stripe, PayPal, or Stripe). When someone registers for an event and pays using an online method:

• The payment is processed immediately.
• The attendee’s registration is automatically marked as paid.
• Payment status is tracked, recorded, and updated in real time.
• Organizers can see exactly who paid, how much, and when — all within the Event Espresso dashboard.

Examples: Stripe, PayPal, Square, etc.

✔️ Benefits of Online Payments:

• Instant confirmation and payment status
• No manual tracking or reconciling
• Fewer errors or missed payments
• Professional and streamlined experience for attendees

⚠️ Disadvantage of Online Payments:

All online payments incur transaction fees, ranging from 2-5%. We recommend including convenience fees in your ticket prices to offset the cost of payment processing.

Website vs Payment Gateway vs Merchant Account vs Issuing Bank

The systems to process payments online are complicated and include several types of organizations:

• Customer: The individual who initiates a purchase by entering their payment details to buy goods or services online.
• Merchant’s Website: The online storefront where customers browse, select, and check out using integrated payment methods.
• Payment Gateway: A secure service that transmits the customer’s payment information to the payment processor for authorization.
• Merchant Account: A special type of bank account where funds from approved transactions are temporarily held before being transferred to the merchant’s main account.
• Issuing Bank: The customer’s bank that issued their credit or debit card and decides whether to approve or decline the transaction.

The online payment process goes:

• The customer enters their payment details (credit/debit card, etc.) on the merchant’s website at checkout.
• The merchant’s website sends the encrypted payment data to the payment gateway.
• The payment gateway securely routes the information to the payment processor.
• The processor contacts the issuing bank (the customer’s bank) to request authorization.
• The issuing bank checks for sufficient funds, validates the card details, and either approves or declines the transaction.
• The approval or decline message is sent back through the processor and gateway to the merchant’s website.
• If approved, the funds are held in the merchant account temporarily.
• A confirmation is shown to the customer, and the order is processed.
• Later, the funds are transferred from the merchant account to the merchant’s regular business bank account.

Offline Payment Methods

Offline payment methods require attendees to pay outside the system — usually through cash, check, bank transfer, or in person. When someone selects an offline method:

• The system marks their registration as pending payment.
• Organizers must manually verify when and if the payment is received.
• No automatic tracking or updating of payment status occurs.
• There is a greater risk of no-shows, unpaid registrations, or human error.

Examples: Check, Invoice, Bank Transfer, Pay at the Door

⚠️ Disadvantage of Offline Payments:
Offline payments cannot be tracked or recorded automatically. This means you'll need to manually confirm and update registrations, which takes extra time and increases the chance of mistakes.

Summary Table

Final Recommendation

For the most reliable and efficient experience — both for you and your attendees — online payment methods are strongly recommended. Offline methods can serve a purpose in limited cases, but they come with more manual work, risk of error, and administrative overhead.

Setting up Payment Settings in Event Espresso

After installing Event Espresso, you can access the payment settings by:

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to Event Espresso → Payment Methods
   
   
3. You’ll see a list of available payment methods available in Event Espresso that do not require additional features add-on plugins to be installed.
   1. Bank
   2. Check
   3. Invoice
   4. PayPal Commerce
      
4. You can click on the name of the payment method you’d like to configure.

Activate Payment Method

To activate a payment method (such as PayPal Commerce):

1. Click the name of the payment method
   
2. Click the Activate payment method button. This toggle enables or disables the payment method to be configured and displayed in the checkout. When a payment method is activated, the name of the payment method will be green.
   
   
3. Once the payment method is active, you will have access to the settings.

Name

The name of the payment method as customers see it in the registration form, in emails, in receipts, etc.

Description

The description of how to use the payment method as customers will see it. This is mostly only seen during registration.

Admin-Only Name

The name of the payment method as seen internally by site administrators and staff.

Admin-Only Description

The description of the payment method as seen internally by site administrators and staff.

Debug Mode

When enabled (yes/no), the payment gateway uses sandbox/test credentials. Only use this during testing and development.  Tip: Never leave Debug Mode enabled on a live site. Debug mode set to NO means the site will make a live connection to the payment gateway.

Open by Default?

If checked, this payment method will be selected by default (assuming no other valid payment methods are also marked as open by default.)

Button URL

The URL of the button image for this payment method in the registration process. You may use any uploaded image on your website (click  next to the field to select). If left blank, the default button image will be used.

Useable From?

Where this payment method can be used from.

• Front-end Registration Page: the payment method will appear as an option during the normal registration process to customers and they can use it to process payments.
• Admin Registration Page: when recording payments made from the transaction admin page, the payment method will appear as an option. Note: currently payments can only be RECORDED from the admin, they cannot be PROCESSED.

Order

Indicating a number in the Order will place the payment method into that order on the page among other payment methods. Lower order numbers will be shown before payment methods with higher order numbers.

Saving and Testing

1. After entering the required settings, click Save at the bottom of the page.
2. If you’re in Debug Mode, perform a test transaction to confirm everything works as expected.
3. Disable Debug Mode once testing is complete.