On 17 February 2010 00:23, Tom Holden <tom.holden(a)economics.ox.ac.uk> wrote:
We did not discuss PayPal in the meeting actually. The
PayPal fee on £5 is 27p at the lower fee rate, though I expect we'll shortly be moved
back up to the higher rate at which it's 37p. I don't think there's any
question of us removing the PayPal option, and it would also be counter-productive to
charge a different rate for PayPal memberships, particularly since our CRM system cannot
handle different rates depending on payment method, which means we have to manually edit
transactions for people who sign up online but then pay by cheque. That we lose a few quid
in change is a little unfortunate, but I think it's worth it for a simple, transparent
system (and for the increase in membership).
What we decided in essence was that in light of our earnings in the fundraiser, we would
no longer be looking to membership as a way of generating revenue. Thus instead of looking
at it as a required contribution to us (which justified charging extra for PayPal) I guess
we are looking at it as a required level of commitment (which justifies charging everyone
the same amount).
We should have thought of Paypal fees! I agree, though, the idea
behind the reduction means changing extra for Paypal payments doesn't
make any sense and we should just absorb the fees.