Recurring Payments Simplified: How Flutterwave Static Virtual Accounts Can Transform Your Business

Olaobaju Jesulayomi Abraham — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 22:04:12 +0000

Overview

Virtual accounts are specially generated bank account numbers that allow you to seamlessly receive payments via bank transfers. With these virtual accounts, you can simplify the payment process for customers and track transactions with greater accuracy. Currently, Flutterwave virtual accounts are only available in naira.

Important Note: Virtual accounts are distinct from virtual cards. While virtual cards are used for making online payments, virtual accounts allow you to collect payments from customers.

Types of Virtual Accounts

Flutterwave offers two types of virtual accounts:

Dynamic Virtual Accounts (Temporary)
Static Virtual Accounts (Permanent)

Static Virtual Accounts (Permanent)

Static virtual accounts are long-term, reusable accounts that are assigned to specific customers. These accounts are ideal for recurring payments, allowing the customer to use the same account for multiple transactions over time. Static accounts make tracking and reconciling payments much simpler for businesses, as the same account number can be used across different payment periods or services.

Sample Use Cases:

Recurring Payments for Utility Bills
A utility company assigns a static virtual account to each customer, simplifying monthly bill payments.
Membership Fee Payments for Clubs
Gyms or clubs assign static virtual accounts to members for collecting regular membership fees.
Subscription Management for Service Providers
Streaming services and other subscription-based platforms assign static virtual accounts to subscribers for ongoing payments.
School Fee Payments
Schools assign static virtual accounts to parents or students to streamline semester or term payments.
Tenant Rent Payments for Property Management
Property managers can assign static virtual accounts to tenants for easy and consistent rent collection.

How to Create a Static Virtual Account

To create a static virtual account, make an API request to the Flutterwave endpoint. You can specify the account as permanent by passing the is_permanent field as true.

Sample cURL Request:

curl --request POST 'https://api.flutterwave.com/v3/virtual-account-numbers' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
    "email":"abraham@example.com",
    "tx_ref":"apex_tx_ref-0022221",
    "phonenumber":"08100000000",
    "is_permanent": true,
    "firstname":"John",
    "lastname":"Doe",
    "narration":"UW customer No.40",
    "bvn": "1234567890"
}'

Sample Response:

{
    "status": "success",
    "message": "Virtual account created",
    "data": {
        "response_code": "02",
        "response_message": "Transaction in progress",
        "flw_ref": "FLW-211b4eea7b3d465d8797fa354c127f79",
        "order_ref": "URF_1726608838391_595235",
        "account_number": "8548777800",
        "frequency": "N/A",
        "bank_name": "WEMA BANK",
        "created_at": "2024-09-17 21:33:58",
        "expiry_date": "N/A",
        "note": "Please make a bank transfer to UW customer No.40 FLW",
        "amount": "0.00"
    }
}

Benefits of Static Virtual Accounts:

Consistency: Use the same account number for repeat payments from a customer.
Easy Reconciliation: Each account is tied to a specific customer, simplifying payment tracking.
Automated Processing: Ideal for automated payments, such as subscriptions, membership fees, or bills.

Conclusion

Static virtual accounts are a powerful tool for businesses that need to handle recurring payments efficiently. By offering a reusable, customer-specific payment solution, businesses can streamline their payment processes and ensure smoother reconciliation for each transaction. Whether you're managing rent payments, school fees, or subscription services, static virtual accounts offer a reliable, long-term solution.

Create a Payment Form on WordPress with Flutterwave

Olaobaju Jesulayomi Abraham — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 16:46:57 +0000

Requirements

Flutterwave Payments is the official Flutterwave plugin for WordPress Integration. A key feature is payment forms.

Flutterwave for business API Keys
PHP version: 7.4 or higher.

Installation

You can install the plugin via Github or WordPress.org

For manual installation, simply download the zip file of the plugin.

On the top left of the page, click on the ‘upload plugin’ button and upload the zip file.

click on “Install Now”.

After installation you should notice the Flutterwave logo on the side-bar.

Setting up the plugin.

Now the plugin is installed. Click on the settings options. Make sure you fill required fields ( API keys and redirect URLS ).

setup your Webhook. The importance of this is covered here.

To setup your Webhook, simply copy the URL in red and paste it on your Flutterwave Dashboard.

Ensure the the secret hash used is the same as the one specified on your Flutterwave Dashboard.

Add Redirect URL for the following events: pending, success, and failed.

To use your site theme to style the form. check the checkbox below.

Confirm all changes and hit the “Save Changes” button.

Usage

To render the form, you need to add or apply the following shortcodes

[flw-pay-button]

This shortcode renders a payment form with the following default fields.

email
phone
amount
currency

If you see a notice similar to the image below kindly review your settings.

Fields and Form Customisation.

To add a fullname field to the form use the short code below

[flw-pay-button fullname=1]

To specify the currencies to be displayed on the form use the shortcode below.

[flw-pay-button currency=”USD,UGX,NGN”]

To exclude fields from the form use the shortcode below.

[flw-pay-button currency=”USD,UGX,NGN” exclude=”phone ”]

To add custom fields to the form use the shortcode below.

[flw-pay-button currency=”USD,UGX,NGN” custom_fields=’age:number,color:select|black:#000|white:#fff’]

you can create regular fields as well as dropdown fields.

To change the order of the fields use the shortcode below

[flw-pay-button currency=”USD,UGX,NGN” order=”currency,fullname,amount,phone,email”]

if you ommit any of the default fields or custom fields they would not show on the form.

Forem: Olaobaju Jesulayomi Abraham