Require customers who pay by E-Check to save a backup credit card, so a returned E-Check can be recovered without chasing the customer for another payment.
Check out this video at 3:34 to see the Backup Card function in action.
Before You Start
Available to accounts that take E-Check payments through Remedy Payments. See Setting Up E-Check Payments.
E-Check is set up per branch, so a branch without it does not offer E-Check even when another branch does. If E-Check is not set up, selecting the E-Check tab opens a prompt to book a call with Remedy Payments. You can also book an E-Check plan discussion directly.
Requires an admin role to change the E-Check settings in Settings > Payment Settings. The per-opportunity Require backup card toggle is not restricted, so anyone who can open the opportunity can change it there.
The backup card applies to E-Check payments your customer makes in the Customer Portal. It does not apply to an E-Check your team takes in the office or on the Crew App.
The E-Check tab appears on an opportunity only when E-Check is available for that opportunity's service type.
A backup card does not require pre-authorization. The two are separate features and you can use either one without the other.
How the Backup Card Works
A backup card is a credit card the customer saves alongside their E-Check payment. SmartMoving charges the card $0 at the time it is saved. The card is charged only to recover the payment if the E-Check is returned unpaid, for example for insufficient funds.
You control it in two places:
Settings sets the starting position of the requirement for new opportunities, by service type.
The opportunity controls whether a backup card is required for that job, and can differ from your settings default.
How To Set the Backup Card Default by Service Type
This sets whether new opportunities of a service type start with a backup card required. It does not change opportunities that already exist.
Go to Settings > Payment Settings.
Click the E-Check row, or click Advanced settings on that row.
Find the Service-type availability table.
Under BACKUP PAYMENT, select REQUIRE CARD ON FILE for each service type that should require a backup card.
Click Save Changes in the bar that appears at the bottom of the screen.
New opportunities of those service types start with Require backup card turned on.
Note: This setting only sets the starting position of the Require backup card toggle on new opportunities. It does not hide the toggle, and your team can change it on any individual opportunity.
For the rest of this table, including which platforms offer E-Check for each service type, see Controlling E-Check Availability by Service Type.
How To Require a Backup Card on One Opportunity
Open the opportunity and go to the Estimate page.
In the Payments card, select the E-Check tab.
Turn on Require backup card.
SmartMoving confirms with "Backup card for E-Check turned ON for this opportunity." The customer is asked to save a backup card the next time they pay by E-Check on this opportunity.
Turning it off confirms with "Backup card for E-Check turned OFF for this opportunity," and the customer is not asked for a card.
Note: The E-Check tab appears only when E-Check is available for the opportunity's service type. If you do not see it, check the service-type table in Settings > Payment Settings.
What the Customer Sees When They Pay by E-Check
When a backup card is required, the customer completes two extra things in the Customer Portal.
First, they read and accept the Payment Authorization and Card-on-File Terms and check the box to agree. They cannot continue until they do. See Storing Customer Credit Cards for Future Use.
Then the payment form shows two numbered steps:
Connect your bank, where they enter their account holder name, account type, routing number, and account number.
Backup payment method, marked Required for E-Check, with $0 charged now shown beside it.
At the backup payment step, the customer either picks one of their Saved Credit Cards or clicks Add New Card. When adding a card, SmartMoving tells them "We'll keep your card on file and only charge it if your e-check is returned unpaid," and offers a Same as E-Check shortcut so they do not retype their billing details.
Once a card is chosen, it appears as the E-Check Backup Card with a check mark, and the customer can click Change Payment Method to pick a different one. The card also appears in the payment summary under Backup Payment Method before they submit.
Where the Backup Card Appears on the Opportunity
A saved backup card shows in the Cards tab of the opportunity's Payments card with an E-Check Back-up label.
From that card's menu you can:
Select Set as backup method to make a different saved card the backup.
Select Stop using as backup method to clear the designation.
SmartMoving confirms either change with "E-Check backup card updated."
Expired cards cannot be used. Selecting one shows "Expired cards can't be used as the E-Check backup card."
To remove a saved card entirely, see How to Remove a Saved Payment Method.
How To Recover a Returned E-Check Payment
When an E-Check payment is returned unpaid, charge the backup card to recover it without contacting the customer.
Open the opportunity and go to the Transactions tab of the Payments card.
Find the returned E-Check payment.
Open the payment's actions menu and select Charge backup card.
Review the confirmation, which shows the failed E-Check and the card that will be charged.
Confirm the charge.
The confirmation shows a Failed E-Check summary with the amount, the account ending digits, the date, and the status, then a Backup card to charge summary with the card and Amount to charge. The confirm button names the amount and the card, so check it matches the card you expect before you click it.
Each returned E-Check can be recovered once. Once you charge for it, Charge backup card no longer appears on that payment.
Note: The confirmation states "No credit card surcharge will be added, the customer pays exactly the failed E-Check amount," with a Why? link that explains it.
Which Card Gets Charged
SmartMoving charges the card designated as the backup method on the opportunity. If that card is not usable, for example it was removed or it has expired, SmartMoving charges the opportunity's default card instead.
The confirmation always names the card before anything is charged, so check the Backup card to charge summary rather than assuming which card it is.
For how returned E-Checks appear and how balances are affected, see Understanding E-Check Chargebacks.
Get E-Check Turned On
The Remedy Payments team sets up E-Check for your account, per branch, and walks you through the options.
To take E-Check payments, book an E-Check plan discussion with Remedy Payments.
A backup card is a credit card, so card processing has to be set up as well. To add it, book a card plan discussion with Remedy Payments.
Best Practices
Turn on REQUIRE CARD ON FILE for the service types where a returned E-Check would cost you the most to chase.
Leave the per-opportunity toggle available to your team so they can drop the requirement on jobs where it would cost you the booking.
Check the Cards tab for an E-Check Back-up label before a job date, so you know recovery is available if the E-Check is returned.
Watch for an Expired label on a backup card and ask the customer for a current card, since an expired card cannot be charged.
Read the card named in the confirmation before charging, so you know which card the customer is being charged.
Troubleshooting
Charge backup card does not appear on a returned E-Check.
The action appears only when the opportunity has a usable saved card and the payment has not already been recovered. Open the Cards tab and check that a card is set as the backup method and is not expired. If the payment already has a recovery charge against it, the action is gone by design.
SmartMoving says no backup card is available for this opportunity.
There is no usable card to charge. The designated backup card may have been removed or expired, and there is no default card to fall back on. Save a card to the opportunity and set it as the backup method in the Cards tab, then try again.
I was told the E-Check was already recovered and the card was charged anyway.
Two people charged for the same returned E-Check at the same time. SmartMoving keeps only one recovery per returned payment, so the second charge went through at the card processor but was not recorded on the opportunity. The message includes a confirmation code. Refund that charge using the confirmation code, and check the Transactions tab to confirm the recovery that was recorded.
The customer was not asked for a backup card.
Check that Require backup card is on for that opportunity, in the E-Check tab of the Payments card. Also check that the payment was made in the Customer Portal: an E-Check your team takes in the office or on the Crew App does not ask for a backup card.
FAQs
Is the backup card charged when the customer saves it?
No. SmartMoving charges $0 when the card is saved. The card is charged only to recover a returned E-Check payment.
Can the customer decline to save a backup card?
No. When Require backup card is on for the opportunity, the backup payment step is marked Required for E-Check and the customer cannot complete the E-Check payment without choosing a card. To let a customer pay by E-Check without a backup card, turn the toggle off on that opportunity first.
Does turning on the setting in Settings change opportunities that already exist?
No. The REQUIRE CARD ON FILE setting only sets the starting position of the Require backup card toggle on new opportunities of that service type. Existing opportunities keep whatever they already have.
Do I need pre-authorization to use a backup card?
No. The backup card works on its own. Pre-authorization is a separate feature the Remedy Payments team activates, and neither one depends on the other.
Is the customer charged a card fee when the backup card is charged?
No. The confirmation states that no credit card surcharge is added and the customer pays exactly the failed E-Check amount.
Can the backup card be the same card used for other payments on the opportunity?
Yes. A single saved card can be the default card, the pre-auth card, and the E-Check backup card at the same time, and it shows all of those labels in the Cards tab.
What happens if the backup card is removed?
Removing a saved card takes it off the customer's record everywhere. If the removed card was the backup method, set another saved card as the backup from the Cards tab, so a returned E-Check can still be recovered. See How to Remove a Saved Payment Method.
Does this apply to E-Check payments taken in the office or the Crew App?
No. The backup card applies to E-Check payments your customer makes in the Customer Portal. When your team takes an E-Check in the office, or a crew takes one on a crew device, the customer is not asked to save a backup card, and the terms step does not appear.